


Foxfire Eyes

by FlightlessEggsxo



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha Eren Yeager, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, College Student Eren Yeager, F/F, F/M, LEVI IS A LITTLE OOC, Lawyer Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Minor Violence, Omega Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), murder of random characters that I decided to add randomly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-05-25 06:56:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6185048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightlessEggsxo/pseuds/FlightlessEggsxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and Levi meet in an unorthodox way, not realizing that their fates will forever be intertwined. </p><p>Eren finds Levi ten years later and Levi can't help himself around the boy with the foxfire eyes.</p><p>--------</p><p>Edit* This was going to be a super cute story. Then I decided to add murder into it. Oops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preface

It was a month before Eren turned ten when they met. Levi had just gotten off of work from his menial office job when he spotted the kid. The brat was short, hilariously so, but that wasn’t what drew Levi’s attention to him. It was the kid that couldn’t be more than eight was wearing a bright blue dress that barely brushed his knees. There was a man standing behind him and the raven wondered if he was the kid’s father. 

When the man leaned over to speak to the brat, Levi quickly dismissed the thought. His entire body seemed to stiffen with whatever creepy words had entered his ear. When the brat turned around his eyes were a bright aqua with a fire shining in their depths. Levi would swear on his life that he had never seen eyes like that before. He had a fierce glare on his face and his lips pulling into a sneer while his hands balled into fists. If Levi wasn’t too busy trying to pull his gaze from the sight of those eyes he might have been impressed. 

Before he realized what he was doing, Levi was jerking the man away from the kid. He ignored the bright eyes that stared up at him in favor of glaring at the man who fixed him with a dirty look. The wrist in his hand flexed and shifted under his grip making his stomach roll. Levi hated physical contact with strangers. He tightened his grip with a chilling smirk that seemed to make the man falter for a moment. 

“Alpha,” Levi tittered, drawing as much attention to them as possible. “You aren’t trying to bother this child, are you?” He asked while letting out his Omegean scent. It seemed to do the trick with enough stress and worry that even the kid seemed panicked. Setting aside his personal boundaries, the raven set a hand on the brat’s head to ruffle his hair fondly. It was a common Omega trait to be friendly with children so Levi let his instincts lead him. As he pulled the brat to his side, he fluttered his lashes at the unfamiliar Alpha. 

“Omega, what are you doing,” he asked with a forced chuckle. Levi saw his eyes flashing colors and his teeth poking out from his lips. The child touched Levi’s suit jacket with a shaking hand and a stuttered breath. Gunmetal eyes flashed down to him to see the brat sneering at the Alpha and his heart soared while he took a moment to be proud. This kid that he didn’t even know was trying to protect him while pissing himself. _While wearing a fucking dress._ The Alpha seemed just as confused by the turn of events as he stared down at the child. He didn’t get a chance to say anything, though, because a large hand landed on his shoulder. He stiffened, eyes catching on Levi’s smug grin before looking up at the large Alpha behind him. 

“Levi, you’re late to lunch,” the blonde man said in a friendly tone. Though he smiled easily, it was clear to everyone nearby that there was clearly a warning there. The Omega resisted the urge to snicker at the smaller Alpha’s expression at that moment. He felt a shiver run through the small body tucked against his side as it took a breath. The raven turned, crouching down to the child’s height to get a better look at him. Gunmetal eyes scanned over a pouting face quickly before he quirked a smile. 

“You alright, brat?” He whispered and the child sniffled a little, looking away and nodding. His hands were still shaking at his sides and his breathing was coming and going in small pants. Levi observed him for a moment before reaching forward and pulling the child to his chest. In the back of his mind, he understood why the kid was even worse off than before but he thought it was hilarious. Erwin was as harmless as a fly. But he still hugged the child to his chest in a comforting manner and crooned to him softly, petting his hair. 

There was a soft murmur of his name so Levi looked up to see Erwin looking down at him curiously. Levi laughed softly while hoisting the child up into his arms. He studiously ignored the surprised look on his friend’s face while adjusting his grip so that the brat could cling to his neck. He wasn’t crying per say but trying everything to not do so. It was a valiant effort and Levi couldn’t help but be impressed once again by this brat. Who was _still_ in a dress. 

_Why was he in a dress?_

“Where are your parents,” Levi asked and the child's voice wavered when he answered. The raven nodded and started walking in the correct direction without another word. Erwin fell into step with him without saying anything and they continued in silence. Well, that was until the kid started to cry. Levi actually only noticed because he felt the tears falling onto his neck. His heart clenched in his chest and he turned to nuzzle the boy’s hair with a soft croon. The closer they got the café, the more desperate Levi got though he wouldn’t show it. It was something he didn’t understand. 

His senses and instincts felt like they were running wild. He wanted to wrap this boy up and hide him away from the rest of the world. This child, with foxfire eyes, hadn’t presented yet and Levi wanted to be there when he did. Wanted to see this child as he grew, smiles and tears and everything in between. His brain was running on overdrive and he didn’t like it at all. If this is what it was like having kids, Levi mused, he never wanted any. 

The café that they walked to loomed up ahead and the raven’s stomach dropped. His scent must have given him away because Erwin slid a hand along his back, grounding him. He then pulled away and stepped back with an apology sliding from his lips. Levi then realized, with unrestrained horror, that he would have to go inside by himself because in was an Omega café. Of fucking _course_ it was. He pushed inside and into one of the most comforting atmospheres he had ever experienced. 

The entire café was humble in a way that most Omegas were. There were soft tapestries hanging from the walls and soft lighting coming from the ceiling. The booths looked soft enough to sleep in and the tables had an old feel to them that made him smile. Though the best part had to be the smell of whatever drink they were making. But before he could find out what it was he met large honey eyes that were staring at the small child he had in his arms. 

“Eren?” She called softly and the boy cried softly in response. The woman came rushing over and Levi didn’t hesitate in handing him over. His Omega recognized this woman as Eren’s mother though also as something else. Something that he just couldn’t put a name to. The woman was stunning even as she cooed over her son. Levi couldn’t help the stab of envy that shot through him before chiding himself. 

What was wrong with him today? 

The woman was looking at him curiously and he looked back at her. He only managed to stare for a few seconds before having to look away. There was something about this woman that was dominant over him even though they shared a class and that strange feeling came back as she scented him. Her eyes widened for a moment before she smiled the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. 

“Do you mind explaining what happened?” She asked and her voice reminded Levi of honey much like her eyes did. He explained what happened, gut tight when she started to get angry. After his explanation was over she took a moment to just breathe in her son’s scent and calm herself. Eren had been watching Levi but turned to his mother when she pulled away. His mother looked unimpressed for a moment before sighing. 

“Eren why are you in a dress?” 

\----- ♥----- 

> “One of the newest law firms added to the list this year is Trost Corps. They have risen to the top of the ranks for Sina’s most illustrious law firm. Dot Pixis, an eccentric man, runs a tight show according to our sources. They take on risky clients that other firms claim to be ‘hopeless’ and 'unwinnable'. The work that his most popular lawyers put in is grueling and harsh but they never seem to complain. They always get results.” 

Hanji cackles, holding the magazine to their chest with tears flowing down their cheeks before leaning back on the desk while wiping off their face. They look down at the article they had been reading with Levi peering over her shoulder. The three men in the room all looked varying degrees of amused with the article. Well, two of the men looked amused while Levi looked annoyed though that was aimed at Hanji who made a mess of his office. The papers he had been concentrated on were now scattered on the floor while the scientist sat on his desk. Disgusting. 

> “Erwin Smith is a tough one to crack with his commanding presence. The blonde is the lead attorney on most cases and is the figure head of the company. With such responsibility, one would assume he would crumble under the pressure, right? Not this man. Mr. Smith always keeps a cool head even in the face of adversity and is always two steps ahead. He is polite and intimidating in the best ways that keep him on top there is no other lawyer out there that is able to best him.”

The scientist starts to giggle while casting a look towards the large blonde in the room. The Alpha looks a bit smug with the way he grins, leaning against the door frame though he pretends he doesn't care while trying to hide his grin while looking down at his nails. Levi rolls his eyes while making a swipe for the magazine only to growl when Hanji pulls it just out of his reach. 

>   
>  “Mike Zacharius, the ever studious right hand man, is our favorite. He speaks without words and always has a way to sway the mood in the courtroom without ever doing anything. Less is more right? Rumor has it that he knows someone is guilty by their smell. What an amazing super power if it’s true!”  
> 

An unrestrained giggle starts and even Levi snorts. Mike looks offended at the words of the article even when Erwin puts a hand on his friend’s shoulder, though the blonde has to look away to try to hide his grin. 

> “Reporters try to engage this quiet man in conversation and never seem to break him down. Does he never have anything to say or is he just shy? Levi Ackerman is the most interesting by far. As the only Omega in the firm, he draws the most attention. When he steps into the room, all eyes turn to him. Though where the usual Omegas are soft, people stare at him because of his harsh lines. His sharp glare will make even the toughest Alphas cry and his words make Hell freeze over time and time again. No one stands a chance against this spitfire of a man when they take the oath. Even the jury sweats under his questioning. Is there anyone out there that can take his attitude?”  
> 

All eyes turn to Levi who grinned. He was too smug for what the article said about him. Though he had a reason to be smug because it was like they said. He was the only Omega working at an Alpha-run company. Hanji reached over and ruffled over his hair with a squeal before they jumped off of his desk. He hissed something nasty at her while tossing his stapler. 

> “Last but not least, Hanji Zoe, the brains behind the operation. They are the specialist that goes through all evidence before cases. They compile it all for the faces of the company to help them get the results that keep them at the top. This braniac passed at the top of their class and got offers from the government! Instead, they went to work with their childhood friends. If that doesn’t spell out a big heart, then we don’t know what does.”  
> 

Hanji finished quietly with a grin. The guys watched as the scientist beamed down at the article before hugging it to their chest. 

“I love it and you guys can’t take it from me!” They screamed before running out, presumably back to their lab. Levi sighed, hand coming up to rub the bridge of his nose. Erwin was still grinning to himself; the Alpha in him was singing with the praise from the article. Mike was frowning, pouting, while making his way out of the raven's office. Levi waved once before standing to collect the papers that now covered the floor. Erwin joined without a word, his scent powerful and strong. 

"Seriously, Eyebrows? Knock it off. You stink," Levi hissed as he narrowed his eyes. The blonde grinned boyishly, though he did reign his scent in. Once the paperwork was all picked up, it was returned to the Omega's mahogany desk with a soft noise. The elevator dinged in the hallway and both men turned to each other, confused. There was a loud call for them and Erwin huffed a laugh while Levi sighed. 

"Fucking Pixis," he hissed while following the blonde Alpha into the hallway to greet his boss. The man was pulling a flask out of his jacket pocket and taking a drink of it. Mike had yet to come out of his office but Hanji was running out to meet them. They had a wild grin on their face as they latched onto Levi's neck with a shout. Pixis grinned and waved at the scientist with a good natured laugh. Erwin welcomed his uncle with a handshake, as per usual, before stepping out of the way. 

"Afternoon, Hanji, Levi!" He shouted before clapping his nephew on the shoulder with a warmer smile. The two Alphas start talking about an upcoming case and left the other two to their own devices. They spent the time making faces until the elevator dinged again. Pixis turns with another loud greeting, smiling at the two teens that walk into the swanky office. Levi would never admit to it, but he swears his heart stops before jumping into his throat. 

The raven knows those aqua eyes with fire shining in them. He remembers a time, what seems so long ago, when those eyes looked up at him with tears shining in them. Erwin looks at him with an openly shocked expression that Levi mimics before turning back. Hanji bounds forward to introduce herself and Erwin follows suit after a beat. The Omega doesn't move, _can't_ move, as his instincts flare up inside of him. He remembers wanting to wrap the small boy up in his arms and hide him away from the world. 

Everyone is staring at him but he can't force any words out of his mouth. Someone is talking to him but he can't hear anything over the loud rushing of his blood in his ears. There is a hand on his back and he startles, gunmetal eyes looking up into brown eyes that are shining with worry. Hanji pushes at his shoulder until he takes a step and in the back of his mind he recognizes his office. There are voices from outside as the door closes but he can't focus on them, breath coming in much too fast. He sits down in his chair, eyes on the floor while his mind spins and stutters. Just like all those years ago, his instincts are running wild in his body and his Omega is rolling around in glee. This boy with foxfire eyes is making his Omega happy for reasons that Levi doesn't dare acknowledge. Hanji puts their hands on his face while crooning to him. It isn't an Alpha's croon so it isn't as powerful, but the familiarity of it helps and it calms him down faster. 

He takes a gasping breath before wrapping his arms around his body tightly. Those eyes still haunted his dreams on occasion, following him for years. They left him paranoid during the day and restless at night and now they were back. They were back and Levi wanted nothing more than to bathe in the feeling of that gaze. Hanji leaves the room and Levi is grateful for a moment before the silence creeps up on him. He knows that he is shaking, the Omega in him is scared to be alone when he is vulnerable. Why is he feeling so vulnerable? The brat was just that; a brat. There was nothing other than that mere encounter with him, with _Eren_. So why was Levi so shaken up about him suddenly reappearing back in his life? 

There is a knock on his door and he whimpers, curling in on himself and ignoring whoever is at his door. It opens so he spins his chair away from it so that they can't see him. He’s having an obvious moment of weakness and he doesn’t want to show anyone. It’s a matter of pride, but he doesn’t want anyone to see the tears that threaten to fall. Its silent as the door closes and Levi knows that there is someone in the room but he doesn't know who it is. Just as he opens his mouth to ask, a musky scent reaches him and his body reacts in kind. His fruity Omegean scent rises in the room and he hears a rough Alpha croon as the scent gets stronger. 

A warm hand touches his shoulder and he shivers, head tilting until his face touches the hand. He doesn't dare open his eyes. Fears that if he does, it will ruin whatever spell has taken over his office. Another hand runs through the strands of hair that have fallen over his face before sliding down the side of his neck and he whimpers again. Then he does open his eyes, staring at the obnoxious band T-shirt in front of him. He would have snorted a laugh if he wasn't on the verge of tears. 

Slowly he turned his gaze up to meet the foxfire eyes that gazed down at him with such wonder that his face flushed. One of his hands reached up to grip at the T-shirt the brat wore, his breath stuttering in his lungs. Eren crouched down to look Levi in the eye before smiling at him in such a loving way that Levi seriously questioned this kid's sanity. He didn’t deserve a gaze like that directed at him. Though, at the moment, the raven just let out a stuttering breath and dropped his chin to his chest in defeat. Eren crooned to him softly and the Omega inside of Levi rolled in the sound and in the scent of the Alpha in front of him. 

"I finally found you Levi," he whispered and Levi did snort this time though it was a weak sound. Eren carefully wrapped his arms around the older man before bringing him closer. Levi let out a breath he didn't realize that he had been holding as he wrapped his own arms around Eren. The two held onto each other desperately, breathing in each other's scents. 

"Eren, shit," Levi whispered against the brat's tan neck. The embrace lasted a moment longer before they pulled away just enough to look into the other's eyes. Those foxfire eyes that seemed to follow Levi everywhere bore into him and Levi's hands caressed the boy's face before tugging on a strand of his hair until he yelped. "Took you long enough, brat," he scolded, though it was weak with how fond he sounded. The instincts all made sense the longer he was with the other. There were butterflies in his stomach and he wanted to roll over for the other which he had never done before. He wanted to shower Eren in love and affection and give the brat anything he wanted. It was a strange thing, but looking at the smile in front of him he knew it was right. 

"My Omega," Eren whispered, voice overflowing with emotion as he smiled at Levi. It had taken ten years to find him again, but Eren had done it and he couldn't help but think the wait was worth it.


	2. Murder on the News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trost Corps gets a case, Eren and Levi are super adorable together, Eren is actually really smart and Levi is really impressed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so for those who don't know; 
> 
> Foxfire is the bioluminescence created by some fungi that shows up on some decaying wood. It's bluish-green in color and it reminds me of Eren's eyes.

_“The world was rocked today with the news of Historia Reiss, daughter of the Chairman of S.R.M. International, arrested for the murder of a lab technician that worked for the company. It is rumored that the two men that were arrested Tuesday for the murder were paid by Ms. Reiss to murder the victim. The men, Bertolt Hoover and Reiner Braun, have already entered the court process and appeared in front of Judge Darius Zackly for their pre-trial hearing. Bail has been set at five-hundred thousand for both men…”_

Levi glared at the T.V. in front of him with his tea poised half way to his mouth as he listened to the newscaster deliver the morning news. He cast a quick glance to his phone that was sitting on the counter, waiting for the obnoxious ringtone that he had set for Erwin that would signal the start of a new case. Sure enough, just as Levi was finishing his tea his phone started to ring. He lifted the phone with a barely repressed smirk, glancing at the T.V. once more before answering the call. 

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to call,” he greeted and Erwin sighed in return though it ended in a light laugh. It had only been fifteen minutes since the newscast went out but Levi assumed that the blonde would have heard about it long before now from Pixis. The old bat and the Chairman had been friends for years so the raven guessed that Pixis was the first to get the call, then Erwin and now…

 _“You’ve seen the news then,”_ Erwin says and Levi scoffs at him. He was a self-proclaimed master at predicting what cases they would be getting from watching the news. Sure, Mike had a hand in it (not with his nose, though that article was hilarious), but Levi always had a pretty good guess since he knew Erwin pretty well. The blonde was never one to take too much of a risk if he didn’t honestly think that they could win. Granted the cases that they did end up taking did seem risky. It was fun in the end. 

“Of course I have, shitty eyebrows. Who do you think I am?” Levi argues, pulling his shoulder up to hold his phone while he washes his cup. There is a knock on his apartment door and he smiles, listening to it open while someone calls out to him. There is the soft sound of someone taking off their shoes before the muted sound of them walking into the kitchen reaches his ears.

 _“Right, right. Well, what do you think?”_ Erwin asks in his ear and Levi frowns while weighing his options. The other inhabitant of the kitchen seems to understand the seriousness of the phone call because they stop short of the raven to lean on the counter while he works on autopilot to finish washing his cup. Pros and cons, Levi thinks to himself as he sets the cup down in favor of grabbing the towel. His eyes are distant, staring at nothing while his mind spins different scenarios. 

“Personally I don’t think that she has it in her to do it. Why would she risk her position as future chairman to kill a measly lab tech?” Levi wonders aloud before his eyes finally focus and he turns, his gaze immediately zeroing in on Eren who is casually leaning against his counter. But it’s not the posture that has Levi’s mouth running dry it is what the brunette is wearing. A sweater over some fancy button up with khaki pants that seem to hug his mile-long legs in all the right places. The raven realizes a moment too late that the Alpha has caught him staring because he is on the receiving end of a cheeky grin that seems to be hiding something darker. Then he snaps his gaze away at the sound of Erwin calling his name. 

“Sorry, I’ve got a brat who seems to think it’s appropriate to break into my apartment whenever he feels like it,” he breezes through the words easily but his face is warm and his knees weak. Eren just laughs loudly, stepping closer to wrap his arms around the raven’s waist and pull him against his warm body. Levi goes easily, fitting his back against the Alpha’s chest so that he doesn’t have to look at the other and risk getting more distracted that he already is. 

“Anyways, as I was saying. We should look at the other candidates and see what they have been up to. I’m sure there is something strange going on there and that would explain a lot,” Erwin laughs on the other end and Levi scowls. He should have known this was coming but his mind was otherwise preoccupied. By stupid brats and their stupid choices of clothing that make them look like Gods. How stupid. 

_“You’re talking like we have already agreed to this,”_ Erwin mumbles, still clearly amused. The entire situation screams strange and there is something off about as simple as the arrest. It has been two days since the other two men were arrested and they have already given up Historia? Usually in things like this is takes a week or longer before they talk so what exactly made them speak up so fast? Levi’s fingers draw aimless patters on Eren’s arm where his sleeves have been pulled up and the Alpha makes a quiet noise in the back of his throat before pressing his nose against the Omega’s nape.

“Well, we obviously have. Pixis and the Chairman have been friends for years so we have first dibbs,” he explains and elbows the Alpha when he feels a small laugh muffled against his neck. Erwin responds in kind, laughing through the line though his laugh is unrestrained and just serving to annoy Levi further. The raven swears all he associates with are children most days. “Anyways, eyebrows, I’ll see you at the office in an hour. I’m having breakfast with Eren this morning so go do something useful,” he orders before hanging up on the other and ignoring the protest. 

Eren is quiet as he holds the Omega, waiting until Levi relaxes in his hold once again before he moves to greet the other. However, the raven has other ideas as he pockets the phone before spinning around in Eren’s hold to wrap his arms around the taller boy’s neck. Gunmetal meets foxfire and keeps the eye contact for a long while before Eren eventually breaks it with a kiss to his Omega’s forehead. It was a game, always a game with Levi. Every other Omega Eren knew, besides Armin who was a little shit, was weak and soft around the edges. They obeyed every suggestion as if it were a command and did everything in their power to please their Alpha. 

Levi was different and Eren couldn’t be happier. The raven had a sharp attitude and challenged the brunette on a regular basis while making him work for what he wanted. Sure, he did things to make his Alpha happy but not in the way that others did. Sometimes it would be a simple affectionate nudge when they were out in public, which meant a lot considering Levi’s aversion to PDA, or even a call during the day just to see what he was doing. The raven liked to play with his Alpha with things like extended eye contact which at first Eren wasn’t used to but he quickly learned to adapt. Just like Levi learned to adapt to playing tag around the apartment. 

“Good morning, Levi,” Eren whispers softly and the Omega hums softly in his throat, a pleased sound that makes the brunette smile. It had been hard at first, adjusting to one another and learning the things that they could and couldn’t do. Eren was extremely affectionate and boisterous while Levi seemed to be his exact opposite. He glared and refused, most of the time at least, to be doting in any way. It just made the brunette that much more determined to get Levi’s attention in the end. 

“Morning, Eren. You’re up bright and early,” the raven murmurs before leaning up for a proper kiss. It’s short and sweet but it makes Eren’s heart beat just a little harder in his chest. His grip tightens on the man’s waist on reflex and Levi smirks in response, fingers curling in the short trimmed hair at the back of Eren’s head. 

“I have a class every Thursday at eight. It sucks, but I wanted to take it so it’s worth it in the end,” he explains and Eren can tell that Levi is pleased with his answer. Its easy to tell when the man is happy with him because if his scent wasn’t a dead giveaway then the gleam in his eyes and the small quirk to his lips would be his tell. The look stays for longer than the Alpha is used to seeing it so he basks in it, smiling down at his Omega with a satisfied look of his own before ducking down for another sweet kiss. When Levi pulls away his brow is furrowed in thought. 

“Business something, right?” He asks and Eren chuckles lightly with a nod. Levi just rolls his eyes at the sound but he still seems to be enjoying himself so that is a good sign. It had been roughly two months since they had been reunited the first month had looked bleak with their lack of communication. Plus they were both too stubborn for their own good which didn’t help whatsoever. But then Eren had gotten sick from overworking himself and Armin was having trouble getting through to his friend so he had gone to the only person that would have a chance of making a difference. His Omega. 

“Business Economics, yeah. Second year which shouldn’t be too stressful but,” he trails off and doesn’t miss the disapproving look that the Omega shoots him. Once. He gets sick once from staying up too late a few too many times in a row because of some assignments that needed to be finished and gets sick and suddenly he isn’t trusted. Levi seems to understand where his thoughts are going because he tugs on the strands of hair in his fingers before pulling the brunette into another kiss, this one longer and more thorough. When he pulls away, he keeps close enough that they are sharing the same air and so that his lips brush Eren’s when he speaks. 

“Just don’t scare me like that again, alright? I didn’t know what to do when Armin suddenly burst into the office stinking of panic and fear only to tell me you were sick,” the raven explains and Eren smells the desperation and worry in his scent. He feels terrible, has felt terrible since. Words won’t do this situation justice so he just leans down to press his face into Levi’s neck, nose against the older man’s scent gland and nudging it gently. They are quiet for a moment longer before Levi pulls away with an embarrassed smile, blush staining his cheeks. 

“Let me go change so we can go to breakfast,” he explains without as much as a backward glance while walking away. Eren wants to feel disappointed but he thinks about the hugs and kisses he did receive this morning and smiles to himself. It was more than enough from his stoic Omega and he didn’t want to push the other so he just ran a thumb over his lip, savoring the feeling of Levi’s lips against his own. 

Trost Corps is in utter chaos when Levi walks out of the elevator and for a long moment he considers turning around and leaving but just as the thought finishes passing through his mind, Hanji sees him and yells his name. He winces, hand already rubbing at his forehead to try and ease the oncoming headache. It was bad, he mused as he walked into his office which seemed to be the only peaceful part of the entire place, that he had only been at work for two minutes and he already had a headache. 

His phone dings in his pocket and he pulls it out, a small smile pulling at his lips. It’s as if his Alpha knew that his day at work was starting out shitty. The message is stupid, a picture of some animal crackers with some crude emoji’s, but it makes Levi huff out a laugh. There is a knock on his door and he turns, expecting to see Erwin or Mike since Hanji never knocks but Petra is standing there with a kind smile and a cup in her hands. He takes a deep breath and relaxes at the smell of chamomile tea and doesn’t mention that he isn’t feeling anxious. Yet. 

“Good morning, Petra,” he greets and takes the cup gratefully. The woman smiles wider and brushes her sandy hair behind her ear while edging his door closed. Time for the interrogation, he guesses by the look in her eyes. Erwin’s wife, while being one of the nicest people he has ever met, was one of the nosiest especially when it came it Levi’s love life. She had been out of the country for some time for her job as an event coordinator so she has yet to meet Eren but the raven is sure that Petra has heard many things already. 

“Morning, Levi. You’re looking well,” she says and he knows that she means it. The tea is a peace offering for the questioning, he understands, so he takes a drink and closes his eyes with a sigh. Before Eren came along, Petra’s tea had been his favorite no matter what kind it was but Eren had her beat. Not that he would ever tell her that.

“So, are you going to continue staring or are you going to ask?” He grumbles while setting the cup down to unpack his bag. He’s got files and folders from research he managed to get from the internet with Eren’s help before coming to work. His Alpha was a lot more willing to help with his work than he originally thought. 

“Sorry, sorry! Erwin has told me so much about him already so I am excited to meet him! I have a million questions but I guess I just wanted to see how you were with suddenly having your mate,” she says, her voice taking on that tone that mothers use when speaking to their children. It makes Levi flush and fidget, his hands fumble as they shove files in the cabinet next to his bookshelf. Petra seems to understand though because she laughs at the sight, propping herself against his desk with a sigh. 

“I hear he is quite the sight. Hanji has quite the colorful vocabulary when it comes to him,” she gossips and for a moment Levi hisses at the thought of someone else fining his mate, his Alpha, attractive but stops when he realizes what he is doing. Gunmetal eyes flash over to Petra who is examining her nails with feigned innocence that Levi would probably believe if the knowing smile on her lips didn’t give her away. 

“He’s alright I suppose,” he grits out even as the thought of Eren leaning against his counter this morning flashes through his mind. Levi always had a thing for men that could clean up well. “You’d like his eyes, Petra,” the comment doesn’t go unnoticed and the woman is suddenly extremely interested in what he has to say. Her honey eyes are sparkling with excitement at hearing Levi divulge something about his life. About his Alpha. 

“Yeah? What about them would I like?” She asks as if she hasn’t heard all about them already and Levi shoots her a small smile that has her suddenly beaming. This new Levi that she gets to see, smiling and protective of this unknown person, it something that Petra knows she will cherish even more than she did before. 

“They have this crazy ethereal glow to them and it’s like there are stars shining from within them. They are the blue-greens of an aurora that flow and swirl like a never ending dance. It’s a bit mesmerizing, to be honest,” he whispers, voice breathy by the end of the confession. Petra giggles softly at the faraway look on his face as if he is conjuring up an image of those exact eyes. Which, considering the description, he probably is. There is another knock on the door and two sets of eyes turn to look as Erwin opens the door, smiling warmly at Petra before turning to Levi with an amused glint to his eyes. 

“Levi, mind joining us instead of gossiping about your darling Alpha with my wife?” He teases, completely unaffected when the raven hisses at him. Petra laughs at the interaction while pushing herself off of Levi’s desk. Erwin offers her his hand and she takes it, tossing a wink over her shoulder before following her husband out of the room. Levi takes a moment to himself before grabbing his phone and sending Eren a message like _‘shitty eyebrows needs to die’_ … or something along those lines. 

He ignores the skipping of his heart when all Eren replies with is _‘when and where’_. He probably shouldn’t be so happy that his Alpha is so willing to help him kill someone without any questions.

The meeting is long and gets them almost nowhere other than back to square one. Mike left fifteen minutes in to go and do some digging and Levi called his sister, cursing her entire existence when she didn’t answer his call. They are about to break for lunch when Mike comes in, a box of files in his hands and both Erwin and Levi raise their eyebrows in question only receiving a tired grunt in return. 

“All I did was go in and ask for some information about Historia’s work,” he explains and Levi shrugs before throwing open the box and digging in. They search through the entire box, taking notes and filtering through what is important and what isn’t before finally deciding to share with the class. It was a long process of note taking and discussion with Petra bringing in tea and coffee like it was the only thing keeping them alive. Which considering the long day they were having, it was. 

“So, basically, there is money that has gone missing, faked documents spread throughout the past six months, reasonable suspicion that Historia could have killed Marco Bott, and somehow we are supposed to put all this together to prove that she is innocent?” Levi asked with a tired sigh. Erwin looked worse for wear, tie pulled loose and hanging from his neck while Mike had his head pressed against the large table they were sitting around. Petra walked in again and laughed softly at the sight, walking over to her husband and sliding her hands along his shoulders in a comforting manner. Levi rolled his eyes. 

“Yes, but we aren’t the police so I think that if we figure something out that we should probably turn it over to them,” Erwin mumbled, leaning sideways against Petra’s slight frame. There was a collective snort at the thought; there was never any use in passing information onto the police because they never seemed to do anything when they did. It had been a wasted effort that they eventually gave up on. 

“So, the question remains,” Petra finally chimed in with a kind voice while her eyes scanned over the papers quickly. All three men turned to look at her with some kind of hope in their eyes as if she could solve it all for them. “Who is behind it all?” She finished and laughed loudly at the protests and groans she received for that. There was a noise from the hallway and the woman pulled away to go greet the guest though she stopped short at the sight. 

Eren stood with a nervous expression, eyes looking down at the bags of takeout in his hands while he shifted nervously. The brunette was dressed to the nines in a full suit and tie with his hair tamed down and a shiny watch adorning his right wrist. What really shocked Petra though, was his eyes. They were exactly as Levi had explained them; they seemed to glow as if there was a light within them to project their color on their surroundings. The color was like nothing she had ever seen before and it was something she wished she could capture and keep with her at all times. 

“You must be Levi’s Alpha,” she heard herself say and his eyes turned on her. Being in direct line of that gaze was unnerving with how crystalline and clear it was. She wasn’t quite sure how Levi managed to handle it on a regular basis. As if summoned by the mention of his name, the raven exited the meeting room with a weary sigh, hand rubbing over his face with a grumble that sounded suspiciously like ‘fucking eyebrows’ but Petra still couldn’t move from those eyes. Levi took a deep breath and stopped, chest contracting quickly before he took another deep breath. 

Gunmetal eyes widened behind the pale hand covering his face and Levi looked up, his hand dragging down to hover awkwardly by his mouth to stare at Eren. The Alpha seemed more comfortable and more nervous now that his Omega was in sight, if that were even possible. The sight made Petra want to laugh. He was fidgeting and he dropped his arms to his sides while he looked down to the floor, a blush working its way up his neck to fix itself on his cheeks. Even the tips of his ears turned red. 

“Eren,” Levi started and Petra startled at the sound of his voice, glancing at the man beside her. His voice was a bit raw with shock, awe, and dare she say fondness. At the sound of his name the boy looked up with a shy smile, kicking at the ground with a foot before holding up the bags of takeout as an offering.

“You didn’t call to tell me what time we were meeting for dinner so I figured you were busy with work. I thought I would swing by after the business meeting I had with some food for you guys,” he explained and Petra understood just how this boy had worked his way into Levi’s heart. The raven had gone so long by himself, doing things for himself, thinking of only himself. These little acts of kindness with no other reason but ‘just because’ were what made him special in Levi’s world. 

Levi glanced at the takeout for a moment before sighing though it sounded a little forced. Then he did something Petra never thought she would ever hear; he started to laugh. Not even a small chuckle, because she had heard that many times before, but a full out laugh that seemed so out of character it made her question if she were dreaming. Eren brightened up immediately at the sound and even Erwin poked his head out of the meeting room but by then Levi had already gotten to Eren and was pressing his face to the Alpha’s chest. Foxfire eyes glanced at Erwin and Petra and the woman rushed forward with a bright and excited grin to take the bags from him so that the boys could have a moment. 

She wasn’t disappointed because the brunette wrapped his arms around Levi tightly, ducking his head down with a small chuckle of his own. They were talking in low tones, a private conversation and it was a sight that Petra felt bad for spying on but she couldn’t help it when she saw the awed smile that Levi shot Eren when he looked up at the Alpha. Erwin put a hand on her back wish a small laugh, shaking his head and they watched as Levi’s shining eyes closed while Eren nuzzled at his hair. For someone who didn’t like PDA, Levi sure basked in it when his Alpha showered him in it. 

There was another soft murmur between the two mates before Eren took a small step back, reaching down to grab Levi’s hand instead and Petra watched as the raven tried to follow. The brunette just chuckled, leaning forward to press a kiss to his Omega’s lips before murmuring something that made Levi tense up for just a moment before relaxing again. When Levi turned back to them, his eyes were still bright and his posture relaxed but he was scowling at the two of them, more Erwin than Petra. 

“Are you going to gawk all day, shitty eyebrows?” He growls out and Eren laughs softly behind him, following closely when Levi starts forward down the hallway. When they reach Petra, the brunette takes one of the takeout bags from her and she realizes that Levi hasn’t let go of the Alpha’s hand. Eren seems to see where her gaze is because when she looks up he has a cheeky grin pulling at his lips. She giggles and hides her face against her husband’s chest when Levi turns to look at her. 

“Are you eating with us, brat?” Levi asks as they walk in. At the smell of food, Mike perks up while his nose twitches. He takes in the sight of Eren for a long moment before nodding deeply in thanks. The brunette waves back while setting the bag on the table. He opens his mouth to answer his mate but his eyes are drawn to some charts and papers that are spread out on the table. Pulling his hand away, he picks them up and reads through them quickly, missing the look Levi and Mike give him. 

Erwin and Petra walk in, both looking surprised at the sight of Eren seriously focusing on the papers in his hand. The Alpha looks away from the papers in his hands and to the ones on the table for a moment before he stretches for some more, collecting them and putting them in some order before reading through them as well. Levi steps closer and is tempted to tug on his Alpha’s jacket to get his attention but if Eren understands the business side of this case, it could mean a lot to them. Suddenly he puts the papers down with a thoughtful look on his face, arm sliding around Levi absentmindedly and pulling him closer. 

“Whoever is in charge of the finances for whatever company this is has been making some pretty risky changes in their stocks. If they have inside information, which is incredibly illegal, then it would make sense but if not they could risk losing out on a lot of money,” he starts with a frown. His right hand shuffles the papers around once again as if looking for something specific. Once he finds it he pulls it out and points at a few of the dates on the sheet. “They are changing their stocks at strange times. It could be a superstitious thing or it could be something else entirely. But by the looks of the rest of this I would say they had someone feeding them information,” he finishes explaining, his gaze looking over the sheets in front of him once more before realizing that everyone is staring at him. 

“How the hell did you know that from five sheets of paper?” Erwin asks after a long moment of silence. Eren shrugs though his face is flushing at an alarming rate once again. Levi presses against him in a comforting manner and it seems to help as the brunette takes a deep breath. 

“I’m taking Business Economics right now. There is a lot missing from this stuff and it could be pieced together but I wouldn’t be able to do it myself. It isn’t my area of expertise, sorry,” he explains with a small frown and a shrug to accompany it. Levi looks down at the numbers with a furrow of his brow before pinching at the Alpha’s side. He smirks at the squawk Eren lets out while rubbing at the spot. 

“We’ve been staring at these numbers for hours and all we managed to figure out is that money had gone missing. You helped a lot, Eren,” he said and the Alpha stared at him for a moment before looking to Erwin and Mike who both nodded eagerly. Levi could tell that the brunette was still thinking though, so he gave him another moment before nudging him with an elbow. “What is it?” He finally asked when Eren didn’t seem to want to share.

“Well, I know someone who could probably help me figure out where your missing money went and fill in the missing pieces. Plus, I noticed from your sticky notes and those papers in that stack that you’ve got forged documents. I know someone who is specializing in document forging the legal way,” he explains, his eyes distant and Levi gapes at his mate. Had the brunette been holding out on him this entire time? Erwin seems to think the same thing because the blonde huffs and gives Levi a look that the raven returns before looking to Eren.

“Eren,” Erwin calls and the boy blinks a few times before turning to the larger man. “If you can get these other two people to help out, we will call it an internship and you all will get paid. I can convince your schools to make it count and everything. We could use the help on this case,” he explains and this time, its Eren who gapes at the man. Levi snickers but sobers quickly when Petra fixes him with a glare. 

“A-are you sure?” Eren stutters and Erwin nods seriously. The brunette nods quickly, explaining that he would get ahold of his friends later that night and have an answer by morning. As they all sit down to eat, Levi leans over to Eren with a smirk firmly planted on his lips. 

“I can’t believe you said ‘is specializing in document forging the legal way’,” he teases and Eren shoots him a dirty look, taking a bite of his noodles and chewing thoughtfully. Levi knows that he is in for a world of trouble when Eren starts to grin at him, however. The brunette leans in close, lips brushing the Omega’s ear when he speaks. 

“Who’s the one that threw themselves at me the moment they saw me?”


	3. Patience is a Virtue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin is a brat, Levi and Mikasa get into an argument, Levi throws a tantrum, and Levi's 32nd Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to put some things on record here first of all. 
> 
> 1\. I AM NO EXPERT IN ANY LAW, BUSINESS, MATHEMATICS, OR SCIENCE FIELDS. What I put in here is merely based off of things that I've looked up on the internet and decided to use.  
> 2\. The court system used in this story is going to be based off the American courts. I am also aware that the time skips I am going to be using are not accurate to proper court proceedings but... I don't care.  
> 3\. If there is incorrect information in here, like I previously stated, I am not an expert. I am sorry. I do not advertise myself as something I'm not. I don't wish to offend anyone either. Just saying.  
> 4\. That's actually it. I was just kind of on a roll...

“Levi, it’s been a week,” Erwin stated as soon as the raven walked into his office. The Omega just levelled him with a glare while perching himself on the arm of one of the chairs across from the blonde’s desk. They stared at one another for a long moment without saying anything before being interrupted by Hanji bursting through the door with a manic smile on their face. Levi groaned, hand covering his face with a sigh while Erwin just folded his hands on his desk and greeted the scientist pleasantly.

“You can’t blame them, eyebrows,” Hanji scolded as they jumped up on the Alpha’s desk. Levi snorted a laugh, shaking his head while Hanji just cackled to themselves. Erwin sighed, rubbing a hand over his temple wearily. “Our darling Alpha-interns have finals and my protégé is suffering through his heat. I don’t think you want an Omega in heat around the office, do you?” The brunette goaded and Erwin stared at them for a moment before huffing and looking away. If Levi didn’t know better he would say the Alpha was pouting; the thought made him snort another laugh to himself. 

“Eren said that he would be over as soon as his last exam was over today so relax. You look like you’ve got to take a shit or something,” the raven grumbled and Hanji laughed, reaching over for a high-five. Levi indulged her before resuming his stance and raising an eyebrow in Erwin’s direction at the Alpha’s petulant attitude. “Did you call me in here just to complain because I’ve got better things to do than listen to you bitch,” he sassed, waiting for a moment for a response and when he received nothing he threw his hands up in the air. Of fucking course the stupid Alpha would call him into his office just to bitch about Levi’s Alpha. Nice try Erwin-fucking-Smith. 

The Omega returns to his office and shuts the door behind himself, walking over to his desk and opening the file that had been picking at his brain for the past week. Yes, he knew that Eren and his friends had their lives going on and he understood that and would defend him to the ends of the earth, but even he was starting to feel the burn. They would be getting their pretrial date anytime now and he could really use that information when he went into the court room. There was only so long that he would be able to stall everything for them to figure it out. A shrill ringing shook him from his thoughts and he glared at the office phone that sat on his desk, debating about not answering it but decided it was best to stay on Erwin’s good side for the time being.

“Hello, Trost Corps. This is Levi speaking. What can I do for you?” He rattled off, grabbing a pen and a pad of paper, instantly starting to doodle while waiting for the person to answer. There was rustling on the other end and just as he went to repeat himself the other person cleared their throat with a grunt. 

_“Hey, you sound like shit,”_ the woman greeted and Levi sneered into the empty room. As if sensing his look from wherever she was, his sister laughed softly. There was noise in the background and the raven huffed, about to complain about it but she cut him off. _“So, I got some information for you. On those brothers,”_ she mumbled and the noise was cut off suddenly. Levi sat up straighter in his chair though, his pen stilling on the paper. 

“Oh? You are actually being useful after ignoring my phone calls for three weeks? That’s surprising,” he commented, snide and biting. She sighed and he felt bad momentarily but it was wiped away when he remembered the panic he felt every time he called and got her voicemail. It was the same thing every single time she decided to go out on a case; her phone would get turned off because it was a ‘distraction’ and all her focus would be on what she was doing. Forget about the fact that she had a brother back at home that was worried sick about her because she disappeared randomly. 

_“Levi, I’m sorry. You know how this works, though,”_ she started and he groaned with frustration. It was the same fight every time. She tried to tell him that he was supposed to understand how she could go off the grid for extended amounts of time without saying anything to anyone first. A warning would be nice, but no. Would she ever do something like that to ease the worry in her poor brother’s heart? Fuck no.

“Fuck that, Mikasa. I don’t know how it works because unlike you when I plan on going somewhere I let you know so that you don’t track me down when you get worried,” he hissed and she answered with a groan. There was a knock on his door and he looked up to see Mike looking in at him. There was a question in his eyes but Levi knew him well enough to know that the blonde man wouldn’t ask if he didn’t want him to. Instead he grinned something sharp and harsh. “You know what? I don’t think I want to have this conversation with you. I’ll give the phone to Mike and you can tell him all about whatever the fuck you feel like sharing!” With that he slammed his finger down on the hold button, slammed his phone down and turned to glare up at the larger man who peered at him for a moment longer. With a nod, Mike turned and left while pulling the door shut behind him.

The raven was shaking, anger coursing through his veins and he curled his hands into fists, eyes wrenching shut and breath coming in heaving gasps. His scent was swirling and filling his office; it was suffocating and made his stomach clench with the metallic bite. There was another knock on the door, more urgent this time and he snarled but the door opened anyways. Teeth bared, he turned to the intruder with a hiss as his body moved on its own to protect itself, moving behind the chair. When gunmetal eyes finally focused on glowing foxfire the hiss died as fast as it had started. 

Levi had hissed at his Alpha, _rebelled_ against him. His Omega was whining with its ears pressed against its head. This wasn’t… Eren had a hand out in front of him but he stayed by the door and Levi couldn’t figure out why. Why was his Alpha, his mate, not coming to him? The brunette was saying something but the Omega couldn’t hear anything past the rushing in his ears and he made to flex his hands but when he couldn’t he looked down to see his scissors in his hand. As a _weapon._ He had instinctively grabbed a weapon to defend himself with. _Against his Alpha._ There were warm hands coaxing the cold metal from his own shaking fist.

“Oh, god, Eren,” rasping, that’s what he was doing. This wasn’t talking, he scolded himself, but the brunette just shushed him and wrapped him in an embrace while pressing gentle kisses to his face and hair. The Alpha whispered sweet things to him, told him there was nothing wrong, nothing to apologize for, not to worry, all while holding him. Levi wasn’t sure how long they stood like that but when he finally pulled back enough to see Eren’s face he realized that someone had brought tea into his office and that it was already cold. As if noticing the same thing, Eren laughed softly. 

“Do you happen to have a map? I seem to have gotten lost in your eyes,” he murmured as his cheeks slowly turned red. Levi stared at him, seemingly confused as to what the Alpha had just said before snorting and pressing his face against Eren’s chest to hide his own blush. 

“That was terrible, Eren,” came the hushed reply but the Alpha couldn’t have been happier so he just hugged the raven tighter and rocked them back and forth gently. Levi accepted the embrace gratefully, even curled into it with a soft sound that he would deny if ever it was pointed out. If the brunette heard it he didn’t mention it. (He totally heard it.) They stayed like that for a moment longer before pulling away from one another with small smiles. It was quiet as Levi returned to his desk, closing the folder and putting it away. He could feel Eren watching him, could feel that burning gaze picking up on his every movement but didn’t say anything about it.

They enjoyed the silence for as long as it would last and Levi hoped that it would actually last. He was feeling raw, vulnerable, and frayed in the worst ways. There was no way that he could put up with any excessive noise or energy at the moment. As the thought started to cross his mind, he felt the weariness of letting his instincts take over hit him all at once as the adrenaline wore off. Eren laughed softly again and walked over to him, sliding a hand along his shoulders before coaxing the older man into his desk chair. 

“Just relax and I’ll get your stuff. We can head home early today, alright?” Not waiting for an answer, the brunette started moving around the room quietly to collect Levi’s bag and jacket. There were some papers and books that Eren knew that the Omega would bring home so he packed those up. Next went in the cell phone and with a cheeky grin he moved over to Levi who watched him warily. Eren crawled into the raven’s lap, smirking at the confused sound that left his mate’s lips. With careful fingers he pulled at the tie, loosening it before slipping completely off of Levi’s neck and undoing the top button of his shirt. 

“Relax, Levi. I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered as he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to the man’s lips. The raven returned the intimate touch that was ruined by the door suddenly bursting open with a shout. Levi’s wide eyes turned to the door and his hands instinctively reached for Eren who was still perched in his lap, shielding him from the door. There was a long moment where no one moved until Levi looked up at Eren who was bearing his teeth at Hanji and growling something predatory. Hanji was just smiling manically at the two of them. 

“It was either me or Erwin and considering Eren already tried to hit eyebrows I figured I would open the door,” they jeered and laughed when Eren growled louder. Levi glanced from the scientist to his mate and back again before leaning forward to press his face against the Alpha’s chest. The growls cut off abruptly and was replaced by soft crooning. A smile pulled at his lips and his hands found Eren’s and he squeezed before huffing out a laugh. 

“Take me home, Alpha.”

xXx

Levi groaned as he trudged into the office, cup of coffee in one hand and phone clutched harshly in the other. Eren had abandoned him to go meet up with his friend so they could go over some of the data and figure out what they could deduce immediately what was missing while they waiting for Armin’s plane to get in. Little blonde shit’s heat had just ended. Fuck him. The office was suspiciously quiet and Levi wanted to question it but it was a nice change from the usual disaster so he just shook his head and trudged into his own office with a frown.

He wasn’t alone for more than five minutes before someone was walking and he almost snapped but he turned to see Petra smiling at him and setting a cup of tea down on his desk. There was a mothering softness in her eyes again today so he just sighed and sat down in his chair. She moved closer and ran her fingers through his hair, giggling when he leaned into her touch. 

“Where is everyone else?” He asked after a moment and she sighed gently. The fingers in his hair were nice, soothing even and he felt the purr building up in his throat, pouring out before he could even stop it. Petra was pleased, he could tell without even looking at her that she was happy he was relaxed enough around her to purr. Her slender fingers slipped down to the back of his neck and massaged the back of his neck and he melted against the leather of his chair. 

“I sent Erwin to visit Ms. Reiss, Mike is with your sister, and Hanji is doing whatever Hanji does,” she answered leaving Levi to snort. Of course, Petra would want to talk to him in private and so she kicks everyone out of the office just so she can do so. They were quiet and once the woman was satisfied with how relaxed the raven was she turned and headed back out to the main lobby. Gunmetal eyes watched her go before he smiled and turned to his desk to get some actual work done. Maybe someone could actually make some headway on the case.

Levi couldn’t have been more wrong. By the time Erwin got back from visiting Historia, the raven had given up staring at the same eight pages that he had been staring at for the past week. Spinning around in his chair had sounded like a better idea so he had pulled his legs up and started around but stopped once Petra caught him. She scolded him. So now he was sitting sideways in his chair, legs thrown over one arm of the chair and his back awkwardly propped against the other while he tried to balance a pen on his nose. As soon as he saw the blonde giant enter the office however he snapped to attention, pen falling to the floor and forgotten. Gunmetal eyes snapped to the papers on his desk to make it look like he had been doing something productive.

“The meeting with Historia went… well? I guess we can say it went well,” Erwin muttered, walking into Levi’s office without as much as a knock on the door. The raven haired man looked up from the documents he had been looking over with a raised brow, suddenly interested in what had his friend so perplexed. His eyes seemed distant as he fit his large frame into one of the leather chairs across from the large oak desk that the Omega sat at, hand cupping his jaw in thought. It was a long moment of silence before Levi sighed.

“Are you going to explain or just continue to mull over the entire thing yourself?” He grumbled, setting his pen down before leaning back in his chair with a raised brow. The blonde blinked, and looked at him as if suddenly remembering that Levi was in the room with him. Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance as his hands folded in his lap. There were more productive things for him to be doing right now if the Alpha wasn’t going to spit it out and he was willing to throw a tantrum if need be. 

“Ah, sorry, Levi. It was just a strange meeting to be honest,” The man explained gently, his hands in front of him in a placating gesture that just annoyed Levi even more. If Erwin noticed the change in scent he didn’t mention it, or even react to it. His hands moved to straighten his tie and then to his jacket while he thought over his words and gunmetal eyes narrowed at the obvious stalling tactic. 

“Erwin, I swear to god,” he warned and the blonde winced slightly before schooling his features into something more professional. The explanation was a quick one, without much detail because, well, there wasn’t much detail to give. Historia hadn’t been much help in the end because she spent most of her time in the labs. She didn’t get along with the Dok brothers, which was no surprise, but what did come as a surprise was the fact that the girl had been close to the victim. 

“I also asked her about the money but she said that she didn’t have anything to do with the funds right now. She was in the middle of a project and was waiting until it was finished to start taking over for her father so it came as a surprise,” Erwin explained and Levi looked down at his desk in thought. If Historia still didn’t have anything to do with the funds of the company then the money couldn’t be blamed on her and she couldn’t have used the company’s money to pay those contract killers to kill the lab tech. Well, that way of thinking would work if her name still hadn’t been put on the accounts and Levi was hoping that they hadn’t.

There was also the matter of the forged documents that Levi had yet to really look over. From what he understood from Hanji, though, they were some documents stating there had been an agreement between Historia and the killers. The contract had been damaged in the fire because – of fucking course it had been. There was also a bunch of bills for chemicals that the company hadn’t dealt with before, probably due to this new project that Historia had been working on. There were a lot of pros and cons in this. 

“Did you happen to ask if her name was on the bank accounts at all?” Levi asked after a few minutes of silence and Erwin visibly startled, glancing at the Omega before returning his gaze to something on the wall. Levi’s gaze was still on his desk, though it was unseeing while his mind still went over different sides of the case. Before Erwin could answer there was a knock on Levi’s door and both men blinked a few times, clearing their heads before turning to see Petra with a fond smile on her face. 

“There is a gentleman here hoping to speak to someone about Ms. Reiss’s case. He says he might be able to help,” she explained and Levi glanced over at Erwin who seemed to be thinking a mile a minute so the raven stood up with a grunt. Petra giggled with a wide smile breaking out on her face as she watched the Omega stretch. 

“You should probably call Eren, too,” she added and Levi jolted, staring at her for a moment before frowning. What exactly would he be needing to call Eren for? 

“Just call it a feeling!” The girl chirped as she disappeared back out into the hallway while leaving both men to their thoughts.

xXx

It wasn’t long before Levi heard the elevator ding and he glanced up from his phone in time to see Eren stepping out, those stupid khaki pants painted on his legs and a navy sweater that made his eyes look like they were glowing. The Omega seriously considered sending the kid home to change first. Eren’s eyes immediately caught sight of the raven though and a bright smile lit up his face and any thought of sending him anywhere was washed away. Levi stepped forward to greet the Alpha and was almost in his embrace when the boy’s attention was drawn to something else.

Levi knew what it was immediately because he had been trying to ignore it for the past half an hour. The stench of a terrified Omega; it was something that no Alpha could ignore and Eren was no different. Foxfire eyes, now wild with instinct turned to Levi in question and the raven resisted the urge to shiver in the face of that gaze. That was the look of an animal, not a person. Something he wouldn’t mind seeing more of. 

“That’s the reason I called you down here. Well, sort of,” he explained, glancing to the side. Getting caught up in his attraction for his Alpha right now would be counterproductive. The phrase just seemed to confuse Eren even more because the boy took a step closer so he could press his nose to Levi’s forehead in a comforting gesture. The raven was sure that Eren needed that more than he did.

“This guy showed up with some information on our case so we started talking to him. It’ll be more beneficial for you to talk to him but right now Erwin is in there scaring the shit out of him,” he elaborated, his eyes growing wide when Eren growled in response. What was his Alpha growling about? The Omega inside of him wanted to hiss and lock Eren away so he could have the boy all for himself. So he wouldn’t have to share, but another part of him wondered. 

“No Omega should be pushed to the point that they smell like that,” he growled out, voice almost completely unintelligible. Levi’s Omega rolled over, beside itself, and his heart swelled with pride. Of course, his sweeter than sweet Alpha would care. Eren was still seething so Levi wrapped a hand around the back of the boy’s neck, dragging him down into a sweet kiss that he had no choice but to participate in. When they pulled back the Alpha was looking at him with a confused little smile on his face but the growling was gone. 

“You have to go in there with a level head, brat. I’ll be in there too, but I don’t need you picking fights, alright?” He asked and for a moment the brunette pouted but after another sweet kiss from the Omega, he was preening. Levi then turned and started down the hallway, smirking when fingers laced loosely with his own. The Alpha followed along, biting at the inside of his cheek as the smell of fear and unease got stronger the closer they got to the conference room that Erwin had the Omega in. Levi knocked on the door twice, pausing with his hand on the knob for a moment to glance at his alpha before pushing the door open. 

Eren physically stumbled, his free hand abandoning the strap of his messenger bag to grab the door frame. The stench of fear was a burning one, acidic and bitter. It invaded his senses and stung his eyes, the back of his throat, his stomach turning in on itself. Levi stepped closer in concern and Eren wanted to grab the Omega and hide him away from the smell but he knew that he couldn’t do that so he set his teeth into his cheek roughly until he could taste blood. The tang gave him something to focus on and when he opened his eyes again, Levi looked visibly shaken at the sight. 

The young man had enough control over his Alpha to keep from growling but he was sure that his eyes were burning with how angry he was with Erwin. But, keeping Levi’s words in his mind, he forced himself to let go of the door frame and brush a hand through his Omega’s hair sweetly. His legs felt like lead when he walked into the room, eyes on the ground as he walked over to the large file cabinets. There were three sets of eyes on him, he knew, and it was putting him on edge, but he swung his bag off his shoulder and onto the metal before leaning back and stuffing his hands in his pockets. It was all he could do to stop himself from strangling Erwin at the moment.

“Uh, this is Eren Jaeger. He is consulting on this case with us and can probably make more sense of the information you have than we can,” Levi explained, taking a seat in front of the young Alpha after a moment’s hesitation. Foxfire eyes finally rose from the floor to look at the unfamiliar Omega and the man openly gaped at him. The raven understood completely, after all, Eren was nothing to blink at. He was the epitome of youth and probably would be for the rest of his life, unlike most Alphas that were meant to look more mature. The brunette had a boyish charm about him, a dazzling smile, and those mesmerizing eyes that drew everyone in. Levi honestly couldn’t blame his fellow Omega for staring so openly. 

Eren was shifting awkwardly, hand ruffling his hair as the silence dragged on until finally, with a smirk firmly in place, Levi cleared his throat. Green eyes turned on the raven and Levi nodded at him in what he hoped was an easy-to-understand nudge in the right direction. The man seemed to understand because he nodded back, shifting in his seat nervously with his eyes on the table in front of him. 

“Well, I don’t know if it is of any importance but I was getting to the part of why I came here in the first place,” he stated and Levi had to commend him for keeping his voice so steady with two of the strongest Alpha’s Levi knew in the room. “I started to notice it about a month after I took over for Nick Dok’s secretary who went on maternity leave. Nick is in charge of finances for the company!” He rushed out, eyes wide and frantic for a moment and out of the corner of his eye Levi saw Eren shift uncomfortably with the rise in sharp panic-scent. 

“He started to have a lot of meetings with people from other companies after everyone had already gone home for the day and he always made sure that when I called them to confirm appointments that it was them who answered the phone. If it wasn’t I was to hang up immediately. Then after the fifth or sixth meeting he had me typing up his notes and putting them in envelopes, only to slide them under the door of his brother’s office. It was all really weird but I thought it was some weird joke between them. Until I actually started to look into what they were doing,” the blonde explained and his unease was still clear in the air and Erwin opened his mouth to say something but Eren was suddenly a flurry of movement, friendly smile clear on his face.

The young Alpha pulled up a chair next to the new Omega, close enough to see the same papers but with enough space between them to be comfortable. The messenger bag in his hand was carelessly thrown up onto the table and the other three men watched as he dug out two pens and a notebook, quickly handing one of the pens over to the blonde Omega. Levi almost wanted to laugh at the confused look on his face but didn’t because he was just as confused. What exactly had Eren squirming around like a puppy with a new toy? 

“Do you by chance remember what those numbers looked like? I know that photographic memory is common among Omegas but that there are some that don’t have it,” he explained as he turned to the blonde. Green eyes were still staring at him, though it was more confused than wary and scared which made Levi smirk. Only his brat could act like a puppy and immediately make a scared Omega feel better. “My mom was an Omega and she remembered everything, much to my displeasure. She would tease me relentlessly about the most obscure things that I couldn’t remember,” he continued on, voice lilting and Levi felt himself relaxing against his chair with the sound. The blonde watched him for a moment longer before nodding slightly.

“Yeah, I remember,” he murmured and Eren beamed at him which made Levi snort. Swirling foxfire turned on him and he just raised an eyebrow in response to the teasing glance he got before the eyes were gone. The brunette got a clean sheet of paper and prompted the other man to write down what he remembered. Gunmetal eyes looked over to Erwin who looked equal parts annoyed and uncomfortable so Levi got his attention and jerked his head towards the door before turning his attention back to his brat. He smirked when the door closed behind Erwin. 

xXx

Much to Levi’s chagrin, Christmas rolled around much faster that he would have liked. Actually, he would have liked for the entire holiday to disappear completely but that didn’t happen. Though, as he ran his fingers over the contours of Eren’s face while the boy slept, he wouldn’t mind days like this rolling around more often. It was the first time since they were reunited that they had been able to just lie around together like this. Not that they hadn’t woken up together considering Eren basically lived in the small apartment with him, which he was definitely not complaining about. Last night, before falling into bed in a fit of laughter, they had agreed to turn their phones off for this exact reason: complete silence. It was a novelty for them right now. 

Levi marveled over his Alpha’s boyish face and how he looked even younger when he slept. How he pouted his lips, almost as if he were chasing after the raven’s fingers when they grazed the soft skin. He was warm, to the point that he was almost uncomfortable so he shifted the blankets off of his legs, but the cooler air of his room didn’t last as long as he would have liked. Apparently he had been too focused on admiring his mate because he startled when the boy moved, suddenly caging him in with his larger body. Bright eyes stared down at him and Levi dared to stare back with wide eyes that roamed over the Alpha’s face avidly. Eren slowly lowered himself so that his body blanketed the Omega but Levi couldn’t find it in himself to complain when he was so content.

“Mornin’,” the brunette murmured against warm skin and the raven couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine at the sound of Eren’s morning voice. His Omega was rolling onto its back, head tilted to the side in submission while whining with how happy it was being pinned down by the Alpha’s larger body and for once Levi agreed. He freed his hands so he could run them over the sleep warmed skin of his mate’s shoulders and back greedily while purring to himself. Could they just stay in bed all day?

“Merry Christmas, Eren,” he whispered as he pressed a kiss to the Alpha’s temple, leaving his lips against the skin with a smile. Eren seemed to suddenly remember what day it was with those words and he jerked back with wide eyes. Levi seemed to shrink under the gaze, knowing what was coming up next. The Alpha, slowly started to smile before leaping from the bed and racing from the room. The raven sat up and blinked down at the empty space next to him, wondering for a long moment just what exactly was going on. He didn’t have to wait very long because a very excited Eren came bounding back into the room and crawling onto the bed. 

The brunette caged Levi in with his limbs but kept the Omega sitting up this time, knees bracketing his hips with a wide smile on his face. Levi could see the start of a blush starting on the tops of his shoulders and slowly making its way up his neck. He smiled, fingers following the flush until he was cupping the younger boy’s jaw sweetly. Eren leaned forward to press their lips together in a quick kiss before pulling away and smiling bashfully. 

“I wanted to give this to you before we get all caught up with everyone else and everything else, you know,” the brunette explained as he pulled a small wrapped box out from behind his back. Levi stared up at him for a moment longer before looking down at the obnoxious yellow wrapping paper with a blue bow on top. “I wanted you to have something without Christmas stuff or wintery stuff, but yellow was all they had. Sorry, babe,” Alpha mumbled and Levi took the box with hesitant hands. The box could easily fit in one hand and he had a feeling he knew what it was but… 

Slowly he peeled the wrapping paper away, careful not to make a mess of it and he huffed out a small laugh when Eren started to squirm. Once the wrapping paper was gone he was left with a small black box and his blood started to warm in his veins and his heart started to beat a little bit harder. His Omega was rolling around, ears up and tail wagging and Levi wasn’t sure if he wanted to agree or not. But, with shaking hands, he opened the box and let out the smallest of gasps. 

Inside were two matching rings that Levi knew all too well; bond rings. The rings that told anyone and everyone that you were taken, that you had someone waiting for you at home. The matching plain black rings gleamed at him in the light from the window and as he shifted the box he felt his breath catch. On one ring was a simple small stripe of color matching his eyes and on the other was the exact color matching Eren’s.

“Alpha. Eren, these are-“ He cut himself off with a choked breath, finally looking up at Eren who looked a mix of anxious and excited. The raven just took a deep breath and pushed forward to press his face against the broad chest of his Alpha, hearing the younger man laugh. Fingers threaded through his hair gently and cradled his head before bringing him away to press their lips together in a sweet kiss. 

“Yeah?” Eren asked, lips brushing against Levi’s with the word. The raven couldn’t even form words past the lump that had formed in his throat so he nodded his head. With another laugh, the brunette took the box with shaking hands and carefully took the rings out. Levi immediately offered up his hand with an excited noise that he would admit if it made Eren happy, which by the look on his face it would. The Alpha was grinning so wide that it looked like it hurt but Levi had a feeling that he didn’t mind one bit. The ring slid on his finger and he tittered under his breath, stretching up to press his face into Eren’s scent glands. 

The Alpha seemed unable to stop laughing because he was clutching at Levi now, trying to pry him away for the moment but Levi wouldn’t go. Didn’t want to go. This was home now, this was the home that he had always been searching for. No matter where he had gone it had never been a home but as soon as Eren had found him suddenly his apartment was a home. Not even his sister had ever made him feel at home. But this boyish Alpha that liked to watch scary movies at two o’clock in the morning even though he hated scary movies, which liked to play tag around the apartment because he was a little shit that did everything in his power to make him happy. This was home.

“Levi, you’re really embarrassing, you know that?” Eren asked with a giggle still in his voice. Had he said all that out loud? Levi didn’t even feel embarrassed. He couldn’t feel embarrassed because this was Eren, this was his Alpha and his mate. A thought struck him and he pulled away, scrambling to take the box from Eren so that he could put the matching ring on the Alpha’s finger. Once he slid it on, he couldn’t help but stare and Eren (bless him) let him have his fill. Until Levi couldn’t take it anymore.

The raven scrambled out from under the taller boy until he could tackle Eren to the bed, pressing his face into his mate’s scent gland with a purr. The brunette wrapped his arms around Levi’s smaller body and held him tightly while laughing joyously. This was what he had been waiting for his entire life. This was it.

“Happy Birthday Levi.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on it! Constructive criticism is totally welcome!


	4. Power Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin is on a power trip, Eren is BEAST, Hanji is badass, basically zero fluff. Sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for lack of cute stuff this chapter!! This is a lot of stuff involving the actual murder case! 
> 
> I also found out while writing this that I have a serious addiction to _italics_ and _love_ the word _obnoxious_.
> 
> I also seriously dislike Erwin.

Once again, Trost Corps was lively and in a bit of a ruckus, Levi thought glumly as he hid in his office with his hands at his temples. Christmas/his birthday had gone better than expected because Eren kept him in bed with breakfast and presents until two o’clock when they absolutely had to get up if they didn’t want Hanji showing up. Which they definitely didn’t need after having such a brilliant morning together. Then they had spent time with the rest of their “family” (see obnoxious friends from Trost Corps) before being excused for the next five days. Five days that Eren spent pampering his Omega in every way possible. 

But now, here Levi sat, in his office while still in his pajamas and listening to his Alpha argue with Erwin and his friend in the next room. Honestly, couldn’t Erwin have waited until the New Year had passed fully? The voices rose and he whimpered, his face pressing against the cool wood of his desk. All three Alphas had been arguing for the past hour about the work that the interns were doing, Eren and his friend vs. Erwin. Then, suddenly, there was more shouting and cursing as his Alpha’s friend started to argue with Eren. What the hell was going on? 

There were gentle fingers carding through his hair, pulling him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see Eren looking down at him tiredly. The boy looked haggard and his eyes held a bit of hesitancy in them as if expecting a fight from the Omega as well. Levi just scoffed and turned his face to nuzzle at the warm hand. Eren smiled and offered his hand to his mate who gratefully accepted it before standing, immediately stepping into the Alpha’s space and stretching to press his nose to the brunette’s cheek. 

A cough from the doorway caught the two male’s attention and they turned, Levi annoyed and Eren angry at being interrupted during such an intimate moment. Erwin glanced between the mates before settling his gaze on Levi in a very unwise move. Eren growled, feral and protective, only stopping from going after the other when the raven’s hand caught his arm. Erwin didn’t move his eyes from the Omega and that made even Levi’s hackles rise. It was a challenge through and through, no doubt about it. His pale hand flexed on Eren’s arm until the brunette turned to him, eyes flashing and swirling with anger and for a moment the raven was reminded of the beast that was hiding just underneath the surface but he pushed the thought away with a sigh. 

“What do you want, shitty eyebrows?” He asked with a careful tone that made the blonde raise said eyebrows. It wasn’t every day that Levi was wary around him, if he ever was. Though, if the raven was being honest with himself, he was more concerned about whether Eren was going to suddenly go Alpha all over Erwin’s stupid ass. Which. Sorry Petra but Levi wouldn’t even bother trying to stop him until the idiot submitted to his mate. Sucks to be Erwin. 

“I would like to speak to you,” he requested and Levi resisted the urge to groan, opting to step forward and tuck himself against Eren’s side. The brunette, despite his sneering and snapping, was gentle with the way he wrapped his arm around his mate and cradled him to his side. Levi smirked and turned his mirth filled eyes onto his coworker with a raised brow. “Privately,” Erwin insisted and Levi didn’t even try to stop Eren from snapping his teeth loudly in the otherwise quiet room. The blonde finally looked away from the Omega but it was too late because the challenge was issued and Eren had been wronged. His mate had been put in a position that made him uncomfortable, that made him seek comfort, and if the Alpha wasn’t pissed before he was _seething_ now. 

“I’m on vacation,” Levi breezed before turning his back on the man and tucking himself against Eren’s chest. The blonde narrowed his eyes at the obvious dismissal and Levi heard him take a step into a room but he stopped at the absolutely animalistic sound that tore from Eren’s lips. He had completely passed feral and into the domain of absolutely _savage_ and Levi swore he saw stars. The arm around his shoulders tightened and he purred, smirking, nuzzling up against his Alpha’s neck. Before anything else could happen, however, there was a furious screech and a flurry of blonde hair entering the room. 

Petra turned around, her back to the mates to level a glare on her husband who visibly wilted under the force of his wife’s anger. She opened her mouth to say something but must have finally caught Eren’s terrifying scent because she spun around with the most interesting shocked expression on her face that Levi has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Eren’s scent was potent, forceful; heady like smoke that curled in your lungs and sharp like fresh cinnamon. It burned him but Levi’s Omega was rolling in it. Petra looked over the two of them quickly before averting her eyes and smiling. Eren seemed placated by the gesture, at least for the moment. 

“I’m so sorry, you two. I told him not to bother with anything until vacation was over with,” she murmured and smiled an embarrassed little smile which made Levi feel bad because it was never his intention for her to feel bad for this. That was until he caught the glint in her eyes. Gunmetal eyes flashed up to the blonde Alpha who looked distraught, staring down at his mate’s back while she curled in on herself. That little shit knew exactly what she was doing. Eren who happened to be the sweetest thing in the world, even while going full Alpha, was opening his mouth to say something comforting to her until Levi stopped him with a pathetic whimper.

The raven had never seen those stunning eyes turn to him so fast before, but he was glad for the attention. Eren must have seen something in his expression because he relaxed slightly but his grip on the Omega didn’t let up. Levi hummed and fluttered his lashes which was confusing but the Alpha leaned down to brush his nose against his mate’s anyways. Thank whatever deity in that moment for Levi being an Omega with a doting Alpha because he didn’t even shift his gaze away when Petra hissed something unmerciful to her Alpha who looked as if someone had shot his dog before turning and dragging himself out of the room. 

Eren moved his nuzzling down the side of the raven’s face and to his neck where he nipped at Levi’s scent glands with a possessiveness that made his toes curl. He saw Petra glance back at them for a moment before disappearing without another word. So he reached up and wrapped both arms around Eren’s neck to pull himself closer. The younger man didn’t complain, shifting so that he wouldn’t have to strain to scent Levi and Eren made a soft noise in thanks. They finally got the quiet that they deserved. 

So much noise had actually bothered the Omega to the point of anxiousness and he could feel that melting away under Eren’s attentiveness. The Alpha seemed to be calming down as well because his scent was mellowing, becoming warmer and less pungent. Eren smelled like warm leather with the softest hint of clove that always made Levi’s blood warm his veins. The raven felt his own scent returning to its calming warmth instead of its acidic uneasy scent from the hectic morning. He could even tell that Eren was comforted by the difference. At least until there was another disturbing knock on the door. 

The brunette’s head shot up and another terrifying snarl ripped back his lips only being answered with a laugh. Levi didn’t recognize anyone that would laugh in response to a sound like that (except for Hanji) so he turned to glare over his shoulder at whoever it was, raising an eyebrow at the gangly kid that stood in the doorway. He was tall, Levi would give him that but only that. _Obnoxious_ two toned hair, _obnoxious_ cocky smirk, _obnoxious_ ripped skinny jeans, _obnoxious_ band tee, and _obnoxious_ Chucks. 

“Ugh, another brat,” he hissed out and the laughing stopped abruptly. Levi would be completely willing to quit calling Eren ‘brat’ if this hell spawn was going to be around for any length of time. It was obvious that he knew Eren as he leaned against the door, completely oblivious to the snarling in his direction, but he was forced to acknowledge it when his eyes started to roam over Levi’s figure. A grin started to pull at his lips, the very definition of lecherous, and the raven hissed his displeasure. 

“Well hello, Eren’s bitch,” the brat greeted and the Omega snarled, ripping free of Eren’s hold to stride over to the new Alpha. Said brat just grinned, overconfident and self-assured in a way that most Alphas were. Until Levi grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him in just to smash a fist into the side of his face. There were hands pulling him away and he fought against them for a moment until he felt his Alpha’s lips against the side of his face. 

“Jesus, Levi,” Eren laughed while securing his hold on the Omega’s waist. Levi snarled once more towards the other Alpha before turning to look at Eren with a frown. Foxfire was dancing down at him in a way that made his stomach turn into literal butterflies despite how embarrassing that actually was. There was a groan from behind him and he looked over his shoulder again, though this time with a smug smirk and the Alpha glanced up from where he was hunched over. 

“You’ve got one hell of a swing,” he grumbled, hand clutching at his jaw. It was then that Levi actually took the time to notice all the piercings that the other had. He snorted and turned to press his mouth against Eren’s collar bone to stop himself from breaking out into full blown laughter. Only he would haul off and hit someone before noticing that they had more metal in their head that made it more dangerous for the attacker in a fight. Go Levi. 

“Did you get in a fight with a nail gun and lose or something? You look like you have yet to leave your teenage ‘emo’ phase,” the raven snarked and smirked over his shoulder, fingers gripping onto Eren’s arms when he felt the Alpha chuckle. Mystery person just narrowed his eyes in obvious distaste while straightening up and pulling his hand away from his jaw, though it seemed like he wanted to continue his mini-massage. 

“Ha-ha. Very funny, cradle robber,” he groaned and Levi felt more than saw Eren stiffen. Before the Omega could say anything though, the brunette had tossed his stapler at the other Alpha who didn’t see the projectile until it smashed into his chest. He swore, bending over and rubbing at the spot on his chest. Gunmetal eyes blinked at the sight for a moment before Levi actually started to laugh, turning to press his mouth back to Eren’s skin to try and keep his laughing to himself. 

“I’m glad that someone is enjoying this,” the man hissed, glaring up at Eren who just grinned back while rubbing a hand over Levi’s shoulders that were still shaking with mirth. After calming himself, the raven turned in his Alpha’s hold and leaned back against the muscular body that curved around him like a human blanket. The other man watched and shook his head, glancing away for a moment before finally looking back. 

“You know that we are going to have to go through all those files from the beginning all over again, right? He said that we did something wrong somewhere because there was still something missing. I doubt that there is but it’s going to bother me if we don’t,” he said and Levi frowned. What was he talking about? “Plus if by chance we did screw up, then it could mess up your end of things,” Eren was nodding, his chin brushing the top of Levi’s head with the movement while the raven tried to catch up with the conversation. What bastard and what did they have to start over? 

“Are you talking about Erwin?” He asked and the man in the doorway nodded, crossing his arms with a frown. Eren seemed tense once again so the raven reached up and found his hands, pulling at them until he could lace their fingers together. It didn’t seem to ease the tension but Levi would like to think that it helped. “What is going on?” He asked and both brats sighed before filling him in on why Erwin had called them. 

The Alpha had looked over what the two had already figured out and supposedly there was still money that was missing? Levi knew for a fact that the two had worked tirelessly on that. There was no way that they had missed something and Levi could only imagine what was going through Eren’s head right now. The Omega had caught the brunette up at odd hours throughout the past few days up and looking over the stocks and money exchanges for the past few months. If they had to start everything from the beginning then that would put Eren back at square one and ruin all the hard work that he has already done. 

“Don’t do anything just yet,” Levi started and both boys looked at him in question. It wasn’t very often that he spoke out against Erwin’s decisions but this was just too strange to ignore. First he and Eren almost get in a fight right before Christmas, then he picks a fight just after Christmas and is now lording over their new interns? Even going so far as to question their work? The raven had an idea as to what was going on but didn’t want to share just yet. “I’ve got an idea, but for now we will all enjoy New Years and when we come back, then we can start anew. Sound like a plan?” He asked and the man in the doorway nodded slowly while thinking over the raven’s words. After a moment of silence, Levi turned to look at his Alpha and smiled at the expression on his face. 

Eren was pouting at him, so obviously put out because he wasn’t in the loop with what the Omega was thinking. Levi shook his head, pressing his hands against the man’s chest right above his heart and looking down at the ring glinting on his finger. He knew without needing to see that those brilliant foxfire eyes were following his line of sight to see what he was looking at. When it was obvious what he was seeing, the arms that had fallen around his waist tightened and pulled him minutely closer with a huff. 

“I just want to spend the holidays together. Is that an issue, Alpha?” Levi challenged, gunmetal flashing as he smirked up at Eren. There was silence in the room as the two stared each other down before the Alpha huffed and pressed forward to kiss Levi gently. It was sweet, all except for the nip at his cheekbone which he accepted with a minor wince. Small price to pay for playing with his Alpha who was a bit emotionally strung out from the day’s events. There was some shuffling from the door and this time Levi didn’t bother turning around, just continued to look up at Eren as the brunette looked over to his friend.

“Thanks for coming in, Jean. Sorry for the trouble,” the Alpha muttered and there was a scoff from the doorway. The blonde must have made some rude hand gesture because Eren huffed out a laugh, shaking his head while flashing a filthy smile down to Levi. The raven scoffed and smacked at his Alpha before shooting a middle finger at the other without turning. Both Alphas laughed at the gesture, clearly familiar with it before settling down. 

“Enjoy yourself, alright? Tell Armin that I didn’t mean to keep you for so long,” the brunette apologized and Levi started at the words. This creep was nerdy Armin’s mate? Poor blondie. Maybe. Levi knew from past conversations just how conniving and evil he could be. The raven was actually really glad that the two of them got along because he would hate to get on his bad side. Jean snorted, obviously going along with Levi’s train of thought in a similar fashion. 

“I have a feeling that if that came from your Omega, he would be a little more forgiving. Though I doubt I’m going to be so lucky,” he said and Levi hummed, smirking and casting a coy glance over his shoulder that had the brat stuttering over his words. Eren started to laugh, ignoring Levi’s smack to the shoulder. “You two were literally made for each other. Disgusting,” the other muttered as he turned, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he walked away. Eren shouted some rude words at him but Levi’s holiday wishes were the best. 

“Maybe you’ll actually lose your virginity this year, horseface!”

xXx

The day after New Year’s greeted Trost Corps with open arms. Well, not exactly. Erwin was still on a power trip and everyone was suffering. Even Petra was refusing to spend time in the office if at all possible. Levi was refusing to leave his desk, Mike was mysteriously ‘busy following leads’, the Alpha interns were refusing to work in office, and Hanji… Well, the scientist and their new intern were suffering the most. Armin and the Beta had actually spent a lot of their vacation in the lab going over the evidence to see if anything had been missed or overlooked but had come up empty and now the blonde Omega had to catch a plane back to his own school. Which left the brunette to deal with Erwin on their own. 

Hanji groaned, pressing their face more firmly against the table in the lab as if it the two could become one. It had been slow progress and stressful with the deadline of the pretrial suddenly breathing down the office’s back. No one had made any big breaks yet, though Eren and Jean had the most luck with uncovering the beginning of the missing money. Hanji knew that everyone was looking to them to find something concrete to help but what? Armin had helped them pour over every bit of evidence that they had been given, had double checked all results, triple checked said results. Nothing was changing. 

There was a curse from the doorway and Hanji looked to see Levi quickly sneaking in with a quick glance over his shoulder. The Omega glanced over at them and with a menacing glare, he disappeared into the hole that was the scientist’s office. Just as the brunette was going to call out to them, Erwin rounded the corner with a confused expression on his face. Hanji groaned loudly and turned away from the sight of the Alpha who had been in their lab six times that morning and it was only eleven. They had come in at nine. 

“Hanji, have you seen Levi anywhere? I could have sworn I caught his scent just a minute ago,” the blonde started and the scientist groaned in response. There was more shuffling and brown eyes narrowed in response to the sudden dominating scent that rushed over them. Was Erwin really trying to intimidating them into telling him where Levi was? Was he serious? The Beta snapped their head up so quickly that Erwin startled but it only lasted a moment because the scent was back, only stronger and the brunette felt a growl build up in their throat. Years of growing up with Levi, Mike, and Levi had made them immune to the petty scent fights. 

“Are you fucking serious Erwin? You’re honestly trying to use your scent to intimidate me right now?” They hissed and if the blonde was shocked he didn’t show it. The Alpha stood his ground, crossing his arms across his chest with a frown stretching across his face. That pissed Hanji off and they stood up, marching over so they stood toe to toe with the bastard Alpha who dare try to do something so stupid to a friend. “Don’t be so fucking stupid, Erwin. I don’t know how anyone actually stands you. Your power trip will only take you so far in life because I’m showing you right now that I’m completely unaffected by your blasting scent. I don’t know why Petra puts up with your bullshit.”

It was a risky move, bringing the Omega into it, but Hanji couldn’t stop the words as they flew from their mouth. Erwin had been on an Alpha power trip since the start of this case, trying to assert his dominance, show everyone who was boss. It was clearly him showing the two new Alphas, Eren and Jean (mostly Eren), that he was ‘Top Dog’. Though, from what Hanji knew of the adorable brunette, he could honestly care less as long as Levi was fine. Which, if Erwin didn’t stop his pathetic bullshit soon, then he wouldn’t be and the blonde would have an issue. 

There was a long silence where neither one moved before Hanji finally sighed, throwing their hands in the air and turning away. Wrong move but the scientist knew that it was coming because as soon as Erwin wrapped a hand around their wrist they turned towards his arm, jamming their free arm against the back of his elbow. The Beta then pulled the larger alpha forward, upsetting his balance and sending him to the floor. Their foot struck out, stopping just shy of the base of his skull and they stopped. Hanji took a deep breath before daring to speak again. 

“Are you going to try that again, Erwin? Try to force me to submit and show me that you’re dominant?” They sneered as they tightened their grip on his arm which had to be hurting at that point. Erwin didn’t speak, didn’t move, until Mike walked into the room. The other Alpha stared at the scene for a quick moment before walking over and touching Hanji’s wrist gently. The scientist released a ragged breath, letting go and taking a few steps away. They listened as the two Alphas spoke in soft tones while exiting the room and shutting the door. There were soft footsteps coming closer and brown eyes turned to see Levi smirking at them. 

“Those self-defense moves I taught you totally paid off, right?” The raven goaded and Hanji stared for a moment longer before laughing, leaning against the Omega who supported their weight and even wrapped an arm around their waist. Once the brunette’s giggles died down he glanced up at them. “Are you alright? Even I was affected by that,” he murmured and frowned when his friend just shrugged their shoulders. It had been a long time since they had been affected by scents and things of the like. One could even go so far to say that they were completely blind to them. 

“I haven’t been able to smell scents for years, _Rivalle_. So I got a whiff of it, but just enough to realize what it was that he was doing,” they explained and before Levi could answer the door was pushed open roughly, bouncing off the wall. Both occupants of the room to see who ran in and were surprised to see Armin who was supposed to be on a plane back to his school for a seminar that he had signed up for. There was a slightly manic look on his face that almost mirrored Hanji’s, making Levi shudder and the other laugh softly, but the blonde didn’t seem to notice them. 

Another person burst into the room, but opened the door like a normal person, huffing and glaring worriedly at Armin’s form while the Omega dug around in his bag. Eren looked rough; his hair was in complete disarray as if he had been tugging at it, clothes rumpled and dirty, and face smeared with grease. What had the two of them gotten up to on their way back? 

“Armin! You can’t just do things like that!” Eren scolded, completely out of breath as he slammed a hand down on the table next to his friend though it was clear to see that he was only worried. Unlike the Alpha that had been in here previously. Armin didn’t even spare his friend a glance while frowning into his bag, tongue poking out from his lips as he reached in further. “Jumping out of a moving cab is seriously dangerous! Not to mention the fact that we were in the middle of traffic when you bailed!” Eren continued, suddenly taking to pacing, hands running through his hair and Hanji understood why it was as messy as it was. 

“Do you realize how hurt you could have been? That driver was pissed off and I can only imagine what Jean would have done to me if you had been hurt, but I don’t even care!” He shouted again, stopping to stare at his friend, eyes swimming with how frantic he was. Levi moved to go to his Alpha but Hanji stopped him with a hand on his arm and a gentle shake of her friend. If Armin was being as reckless as he was, then he needed to see how worried Eren was. “There was a driver that passed by just as you crossed. He was driving way above the speed limit for one, but I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t have stopped for you! You could have been hurt, even killed! Do you understand that?!”

“Eren, shut up for a second would you?” Armin asked softly and the Alpha stopped, face closing off and eyes going dark. Levi growled and two sets of eyes looked to him quickly. Armin didn’t look nearly as worried as he should have been, but he glanced back at Eren with a frown. The Alpha was still looking at his Omega, but his eyes were still dark, almost unreadable and the sight made Hanji shiver. They wondered just what he smelled like, if anything at all. 

“Eren, can we talk about this later? I understand that I worried you but I had an idea for those papers and if I don’t start it now I’m going to forget,” the blonde explained softly which drew his friend’s attention to him once again. Eren stared for a long moment before sighing harshly, hands rubbing over his eyes with a nod. It was short, jerky, and Hanji finally let Levi go. The raven practically ran to the brunette’s side which made Hanji laugh, but it was fond and gentle. The two left quickly which left the Beta with Armin who quickly went back to searching in his bag. 

“So, Armin, what are you doing? If you are hoping to find something wrong with the documents, you won’t. I’ve already ran it through the programs I have and it has come out a complete match,” Hanji said as they peered over the blonde’s shoulder. The Omega had come running into the lab with a grin on his face that Hanji has come to know means he had an idea. The brunette knew from personal experience that you didn’t mess with things like that. Armin finally pulls a small box out of his bag with a cheer and carefully sets it down on the counter before turning his wide blue eyes on the other. 

“I’m going to do it the old fashioned way! I have a feeling that these signatures were done with a machine so they will appear to be the exact same no matter how many times you run it through,” he explained before turning back to the desk and Hanji nodded, instantly understanding. If the papers were indeed signed without Historia Reiss’s knowledge, with the Dok brothers at the helm of such a devious plan, then they would need something that would duplicate her signature flawlessly. Entering stage left: those stupid machines that have the capability to copy a signature. It was smart, and something Hanji hadn’t considered. 

“I didn’t think about it until about an hour ago. I was looking through one of my previous course schedules and it made me think of this class I had. We had studied this stuff and used this theory book. I remembered that it had a few pages about those machines and how in a few years it could become entirely possible for them to flawlessly recreate a signature. But,” he stopped as he opened the box. Inside was a magnifying dome and some other older tools that Hanji couldn’t place the name of. It was highly impressive. Before they could compliment his set, he continued. “What they can’t replicate is the pressure and slight differences in each signature. A person will never write their name the exact same way twice. It is always changing.”

Then Hanji understood; this student was going to pour over every single document to find every subtle difference in every signature until he found all of the ones that were exactly the same. It would take hours, days even, but he was willing to go this far. But for what? What was he going this far for? Armin must have been able to read the question on their face because he smiled softly before looking down at his small box. 

“My parents were separated because of a crime that my mother didn’t commit. When my father couldn’t help her out of prison before he died my mother, who was so wracked with guilt, killed herself,” he explained and the brunette bit at their lip. This was what he worked for and Hanji could sympathize. Not with the loss of parents, but they understood the loss loved ones. It was the same reason they did the work that they did. 

“I understand, kiddo!” They suddenly said, startling the blonde. Hanji laughed loudly which brought a smile to Armin’s face which made the brunette feel immensely better. This was going to work; they could do it. “So, are you going to want help or are you going to do this on your own?” The Beta asked and suddenly Armin looked slightly less enthusiastic but still hopeful so Hanji didn’t worry too much. 

“Well, we know that the lab was set on fire using acetic acid, right?” He asked and Hanji nodded quickly, not quite understanding where he was going with the conversation. They had been told that acetic acid was the new chemical that S.R.M. International had been working with under Historia’s new project. They had been working on trying to make a new type of plastic with the acetic acid and hadn’t yet succeeded from what Hanji understood. “Well, we both know from our research what the boiling point of acetic acid is which means that they would have had to really fire that up, or…” he trailed off while glancing around the lab before his eyes flashed up to Hanji who was thinking over what he had said. 

The blonde was right. Acetic acid, despite how common it was, was extremely dangerous when not diluted. Sure it had a high boiling point but just the vapors, when released into the air, were dangerous and explosive. It was also highly corrosive, but from the pictures that Hanji and Armin had seen there hadn’t been any damage to the lab. The documents on the other hand? Those had suffered extreme damage that was clearly not from any fire that Hanji had ever seen. Plus, to blow up a lab that took up half a city block? 

“It was mixed with something and I’m going to figure out what!” They confirmed and Armin nodded before turning back to his desk while Hanji ran off to their side of the lab to drag out their book of chemicals. They were finally on the right track. 

xXx

“When I got a phone call from the office, I didn’t honestly expect it to be you, Omega,” the greeting came quickly and Levi sneered in the direction it came from. Pixis laughed heartily in return, though, and set a gift bag on the fancy dinner table before sitting. Gunmetal stared at the black bag for a moment before reaching out for it, peering inside, and smirking with a satisfied hum. 

“Are you still trying to win me over, old man? I thought that we had already discussed this,” he conceded while pulling the bottle of 1971 Barisone Barolo with an appreciative nod. Pixis laughed once again while pulling a flask out of his jacket and taking a quick swig. Levi eyed the bottle of fine wine one last time before putting it back into the bag and setting it off to the side. 

“It is a birthday gift and a congratulatory gift in one. I hear your Alpha pup gave you a bond ring?” The old man asked with a calculating gaze. It had once unnerved Levi that, despite how easygoing and eccentric Dot Pixis was, he was extremely powerful and intelligent. Now it was something he admired and even respected. This man was the one who had taught him how to act in a court room, how to demand respect, how to crush every single person underfoot despite being an Omega. This was the person who had saved him. “I’m happy for you, Levi. You deserve someone like Eren.”

“Thank you,” he said, eyes glancing down at the table where his hands were folded. The black ring flashed in the low lighting of the restaurant they were in and the Omega thanked his forethought in asking for a secluded table. It should have been obvious that the old man would have done something sappy like this. “But this isn’t a social visit and you know it,” Levi finally said as he straightened up. Pixis was looking at the ring on his finger with an odd look on his face but at Levi’s words he glanced up. 

Levi had a feeling that he knew exactly why he was being asked here. Asked to meet up without Erwin to run interference between the two of them. It wasn’t every day that Levi voluntarily sought out Pixis’s company if he could help it but this time he needed help. Erwin was someone that the Omega respected, no doubt, but he had gone too far. Lording his position over everyone and even going so far as to try to make Hanji submit to him? It needed to stop and the only person that could knock some sense into him, because even Petra was having a hard time, was his uncle. Was Dot Pixis. 

“Petra actually called me this morning. Poor girl was in tears and said she was going to visit some family for a few days,” the old man murmured as he leaned back in his chair. The light in his eyes was swimming, reminding Levi of liquid gold and he knew that he had made the right decision. It was always touch and go with how things would go with Dot, but apparently this time would be a good thing. Even Petra had called him. “I’m going to assume that this has something to do with Erwin if both you and Petra are calling,” he continued and Levi nodded. 

“Yes, it does. You know that I would follow him without question because he always thinks things through before acting,” he started and Pixis nodded slightly while taking another quick drink from his flask. Levi had always wondered what was in the damned thing. Was he always drunk? “He is using his position to lord over everyone. Mike is avoiding the office. Eren and Jean are refusing to work at the office and Erwin is making them start all their work over from the beginning. He has picked fights with Eren on multiple occasions,” Levi felt himself growing agitated so he stopped, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

“Are you sure this isn’t just about him challenging your Alpha?” Dot asked and Levi snorted softly. His hands were shaking, still unsettled and slightly distressed. The Omega was sure that it was showing in his scent because there was a soft noise and a hand touching the back of his own. When he opened his eyes, Pixis was looking at him fondly with the barest hint of a smile on his face which was a look that Levi had grown used to growing up. “We can talk about something else until you’re ready, if you’d like. It’s different when you’re bonded. I know,” he comforted and Levi remembered flashes of blonde hair and icy glares. Flashes of fond touches to his shoulders when he would hide in the kitchen, flashes of Dot Pixis’s bond mate. The raven shook his head quickly before flashing a weak smile that turned into something bitter. 

“Erwin tried to force Hanji to submit to him by force earlier today. Used his scent and was going to pin them down,” he said and fought back the wince when Dot’s hand tightened painfully on his own. The Alpha seemed to recognize what he had done immediately because he pulled away and settled back in his own chair. They were quiet, Levi watching Dot for the slightest of movements while the man thought over the Omega’s words. Erwin had never had control issues when it came to his Alpha. When he had presented, Pixis had taken him under his wing considering his parents were both Betas. Pixis had taught him perfect control so for Erwin to suddenly try and make Hanji, a Beta who had never been a threat and someone who was a friend no less, submit? It was an insult to Pixis himself.

“This started when Eren showed up, yes?” The Alpha asked and the question made Levi’s eyes narrow. This couldn’t have been Eren’s fault because his Alpha hadn’t done anything to begin with. Everything that had happened thus far had been Erwin’s fault. He must have made a face or something because Pixis was smiling disarmingly at him. “I just mean to say that Erwin probably feels threatened by him. I knew Eren’s dad and that he was a powerful Alpha,” the man continued and Levi relaxed slightly. He had noticed that Eren was really… 

“Despite his young age, Eren is extremely dominant, commanding, a formidable opponent to Erwin should it ever come to that. He is intelligent and quick witted. It’s something that we Alphas see as a threat,” the alpha explained and Levi absorbed the words, nodding before really realizing that he was doing so. There had been glimpses of the beats, of the swimming light in the foxfire that he adored. The bestial sounds that would had ripped free from Eren’s mouth when Erwin had issued his challenge. 

“So, you’re saying, that even though Eren didn’t do anything Erwin is trying to prove he is the dominant one?” Levi summed up the conversation and was rewarded with a hearty laugh that made him wince. Of course. He was surrounded by children. At least Eren was attractive. He groaned and ran his hands over his face before running them through his hair with a sigh. Pixis was looking at him with that calculating look once again and he stared back with a bored look before the man finally cracked a grin. 

“Don’t worry about my nephew. I’ll take care of him, though you should probably explain to your darling what is going on so that there isn’t any bad blood between them, you know?” The man asked as he stood up, straightening his suit jacket. The raven did the same before shrugging into the large winter jacket that Eren had forced him into when he had tried to venture out of the apartment earlier that morning. It fell to mid-thigh and looked absolutely ridiculous on him, though with how satisfied his Alpha had looked he couldn’t bring himself to complain. 

“See to it that you do, old man,” Levi finally said before grabbing his gift bag and walking away with a short wave. A small smile graced his features as he listened to Pixis laugh behind him. 


	5. True Mates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of sneaky sneaky stuff. True Mates, Eren is sneaky, Introducing Armin's sister, Levi asks for Mikasa's help, Hanji loves Moblit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really forced and completely unedited. I don't know how good it is. Sorry in advance if it isn't up to par

“I’m telling you that I rechecked everything and there isn’t a single thing wrong with our numbers, sir,” a stiff voice acquiesced into the phone and there was a long pause before he sighed. “Jean and I have gone over everything three times already, so I don’t know what you are expecting us to find if we were to go over it again,” Eren grumbled, hand fisted in his hair as he tilted his head down to the table he was currently sitting at. Levi’s kitchen had been turned into Eren’s makeshift office while Erwin pulled Alpha-rank on everyone, which the brunette felt bad for but phone calls like these made him remember why he was refusing to go to the office. 

The conversation had been going on much the same way for the past hour or so, Eren realized as he glanced over at the clock. It wasn’t an argument; at least, not yet it wasn’t. Knowing that Erwin was pulling rank on him was one thing but dealing with it was something else entirely. He wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take. The account statements he had been going over with Jean had been looked at multiple times and they had come up with the same thing. Which meant that Eren could finally start searching to see when S.R.M. International had made any – interesting – stock market moves. If they had, well, that could mean multiple things. But he was hoping that it would connect like he and Jean were thinking that it was going to. 

_“Are you listening to me, Jaeger?”_ A scorn comes and Eren bristles at the tone but takes a minute to stop himself from snapping his teeth with aggression. Fighting like this will get him nowhere. He makes a small noise of assent and the blonde goes on about him doing his job correctly and Eren is so focused on not jumping through his phone to strangle the other Alpha that he doesn’t hear the door open, close, or hear Levi call out to him. There is some shuffling of papers in the background and the blonde starts saying something else, but Eren has honestly had enough and his head is hurting and he hasn’t slept properly in three days. This shit it too much. 

“Sorry to say Erwin, but I will start listening to you telling me how to do my job when you have a degree to back up your claims. Until then, I’m hanging up so I can go get some sleep. Have a good day,” the phone makes a sharp noise that grates on his ears when it clatters onto the table and there is a brief moment of silence before it is interrupted by a soft chuckle. Wide eyes turn to Levi who is leaning against the counter in the kitchen, mere feet from Eren, but enough to make the alpha’s skin tingle. 

“Listen to you, asserting your dominance,” the raven teases while pushing from his place to walk over towards his mate. The brunette watches him silently until he is within arm’s reach and he grabs for him. Levi goes easily, straddling Eren on the chair with a smirk that looks sharp but is subdued by the warmth and concern in his swirling gunmetal eyes. Pressing his nose against the Omega’s throat, the brunette hums in his throat before pressing a soft kiss to the pale skin in front of him. 

“Jean and I have spent days pouring over those numbers with no end in sight. All because that pompous asshole says something is wrong with it,” he complains and Levi huffs against his head. It’s a light laugh but Eren knows that the Omega has been stressed out about Eren working on this so tirelessly. Plus he has had to go to the office and deal with Erwin being an asshole and if that didn’t get Eren riled up quickly then he wasn’t sure what did. It had been a tiring three days that the two of them had any time together with Levi actually attending work at the office and Eren spending time either at Jean’s or sleeping. Or being up at odd hours of the night to pour over the numbers because he really just wanted it done. 

Having Levi in his arms instantly settled him but the raven seemed to have other ideas because he started to run hands through Eren’s hair. It started out soothing, comforting, but quickly turned into something rougher. The Alpha whined and bumped his nose against the pale collarbone in front of him before glancing up to his mate’s face. He was pleasantly surprised to see Levi looking down at him, though there was an odd look on his face that instantly put Eren on guard. It made him nervous, the kind of nervous that one got when they were standing in front of a gun. The life threatening kind of nervous. 

“Calm down, Alpha. I don’t know what’s going through your head right now, but stop it. We are both going to get riled up if you don’t stop,” the Omega scolded with a fond tone and Eren startled slightly, eyes widening slightly before he nodded slightly. It had been a natural reaction to the look on Levi’s face, to panic, but he hadn’t even realized it. Though he supposed that it all made sense. He was able to control his instincts well enough, but his emotions were something else entirely. “Good job, brat,” Levi praised and Eren pouted in response. 

“I thought that you were done calling me that,” he whined and all he received was a chuckle in response. _So much for that_ , he thought mildly before leaning back in the chair to fully look up at his Omega who still had that look in his eyes. It was slightly apprehensive, as if he didn’t really want to say anything at all. But Eren knew Levi well and could now pick up the slight hints of worry in his scent. Was this about him working so much? He knew that he hadn’t been taking care of himself properly the past few days because of work but he was in no danger of becoming sick or anything of the sort so there was nothing to worry about on that front. 

“You know that blonde witness, Moblit?” Levi started and Eren did well not to startle this time, nodding slowly. He did remember Moblit Berner well. The Omega had helped him to understand a lot about what had transpired within S.R.M. International when it came to buying and selling stocks. All he needed now was to figure out what companies they had been working with and things would be looking a lot better. “He and Hanji met yesterday and it turns out they are true mates,” he finished and Eren felt his surprise tainting his scent before he could stop it. It wasn’t often that one found their true mate, much less used the term. Granted he and Levi were true mates, that was all he knew of. It had been a long time since he had actually heard the term used. 

It was something of an old wives tale now because no one actually took the time to search out for their mate like he had. True mates, soulmates, or fated ones, were something that children whispered about when imagining their futures. Rarely did you see things like that happen in the modern days and when you did it was marked with mate rings like the ones that the two of them wore, but still. The thought had crossed his mind before, that if he hadn’t met Levi when he was younger would he have waited to find him now? Would he have searched out his true mate or settled with someone else?

“I’m happy for them,” he said carefully and Levi nodded but Eren could see that he was still thinking, still mulling over something. It was worrying him but he let the raven take his time with his words. This wasn’t something he could force out of his mate, force Levi to say. Levi would have to say it on his own. 

“They are the only other pair that I know…” he trailed off and the Alpha understood what he was saying, nodding to show that. Then a thought struck him. Weren’t Erwin and Petra true mates like they were? He could have sworn that their rings were… 

“Aren’t Erwin and Petra fated?” Eren asked and Levi looked confused by the question for a moment before shaking his head. He had been under the impression that they had been this entire time so to find out that they weren’t was slightly disorienting. “I thought that they were. Though it’s a common thing nowadays,” he conceded and watched the emotions flicker across his mate’s face. Surprise. Confusion. Uncertain. Cautious. 

“They met sometime during the years when he traveled. He was originally turned down by his true mate,” Levi murmured and Eren could tell that his reaction was being watched carefully. That was definitely something you didn’t hear every day. Being turned down by a mate like that was one of the rarest things to happen. Occasionally you heard of it, but more often than not when people found that one person made especially for them, they stuck with them. So why was he turned down? The question must have showed on his face because the raven shrugged but stood up before he could ask any more questions. 

“Come on, Alpha. You need some rest,” the Omega purred and Eren, mind still spinning from the information, agreed if only to give his poor mind a break. 

xXx

Eren would never admit to it, but he had been in love with his best friend’s sister when he was younger. She was intimidating and had beaten his ass on multiple occasions but had taught him how to stick up for himself and then how to act like a real Alpha once he had presented. She and Armin were the family that he had needed once his mother had passed away when he turned thirteen and had nowhere else to go but to the only people that he already considered family. He remembered walking into the house that he had spent so much time in up until the age of eight, with wide eyes that were full of tears. 

Armin had rushed on him with tears of his own, arms tight around his neck and words rushed while telling him it was okay. He didn’t cry, just held onto the smaller boy until he pulled away. There was another voice then, a more feminine voice that he had looked up to for so long, calling his name. She was standing there with an unreadable expression on her face and he had taken one look at her before bursting into tears. Her arms had held him through the worst of it and afterwards he had told them that they were the siblings he had wished for. 

When she had left for college, it had been a huge alteration to both Eren’s and Armin’s ways of life. Both boys had already presented but, where Alphas usually oozed confidence and Omegas submissive tendencies, the boys seemed to switch those traits more often than not. Armin ruled the house and lorded his power over his best friend while Eren let Armin do as he pleased. Not to say that the brunette didn’t step in when needed, but he liked to keep the other happy instead of sparking an argument. 

Most days that didn’t matter because they bickered relentlessly. 

That was where Armin’s sister had come in. Despite being an Alpha herself, she had been the one to keep them under control and stop them both from going too far. She took care of them and pamper them. So, when she left, they were left to try and figure their roles out for themselves. It took a lot of phone calls and more alcohol than anyone was willing to admit but it eventually happened. They hadn’t stopped talking, but with how busy Eren was ninety percent of the time, he didn’t call as often as he should and he knew that she was busy as well. So, calling her so suddenly seemed strange but there was no one else that he could call for this favor. 

_“Eren. It isn’t every day that you call with a simple message of a warning,”_ comes the greeting and he smiled despite himself while ducking out of the apartment building. This phone call needed to be placed away from Levi’s ears. There was no chance that he was going to risk his Omega hearing what he was asking for. _“Even Armin usually warns me of your phone calls, so he must not know about this either,”_ she continues and the brunette’s smile fades away. That was another reason to feel guilty. No one else was to know about this. 

“Yeah, no one else knows that I’m calling right now actually,” he says in way of answering her unspoken question. This conversation couldn’t be relayed to anyone. Not even Armin who spoke to his sister every other day. He heard a hum, assuming that she was gathering her own assumptions from his answer before forming another question for this obviously vague conversation they were having. 

_“Should I assume that you’ve done something?”_ She asks in a bored tone and Eren can tell that, though her words are slow, she is still concerned. Like she said, usually he asks Armin to see if she is up to anything before he plans on calling her for anything. Much less only sends a sudden message and waiting for a quick ‘ok’ text before hitting the call button. It is worrisome behavior and he can’t blame her for the guess. 

“Not me, per say. I need a favor though,” he mumbles as he passes a couple that smile brightly at him. He grins in return before tucking his face closer into his jacket and mentally thanks his friends for the Bluetooth phone connection they got him for Christmas if only for the fact that he doesn’t have to hold his phone to his face in this blistering cold weather. 

_“What is it, Eren? If I can’t mention it to Armin then it is obviously is something I need to be concerned about,”_ she grumbles and he grimaces at the thought of keeping something from his best friend once again. However much he didn’t enjoy that, though, this was something that no one could know about except her. She would understand the importance of it all once he explained himself. 

“Well, I need some information on some people, Annie. No one can know about this and there is a very good reason for that…” 

xXx

Levi didn’t like it no matter what anyone had to say about it. Right after getting up from their nap, Eren had sat him down to make a bargain. Three days. He wanted three days to continue working the way that he had been and then he would bend to Levi’s will and stay in bed for the next year if he wanted. The raven had been ready to protest but Eren had obviously put a lot of thought into the entire thing because he pointed out that the pretrial was in five days and he had roughly fifteen days until school started back up which meant that there wasn’t much time for them to solve the case. 

At the time, the argument had made sense and he had agreed. Those foxfire eyes were his weakness and they were burning bright with a passion he hadn’t seen before. It was as if Eren had unlocked the secrets of the universe during the two hours they had slept and was suddenly ready to go and fight the world. It had been a sight to see so the raven had agreed but now that he was on his way back to the office, jacket wrapped tightly around him and hands stuffed deeply into his pockets, he wondered just why his mate was suddenly so desperate. 

Sure the pretrial was coming up but they could make movements so that they would have more time to submit evidence to the court. Eren knew this because Levi had explained it to him, but it seemed as if the Alpha had known something that he didn’t. Something that he wasn’t willing to share because as soon as Levi had agreed to the terms and conditions, Eren had rushed him into a kiss and then rushed over to Jean’s to continue working. It was surprising and confusing all at once and he wanted to ponder over it, but as the elevator opened on their floor he realized that he wouldn’t have a chance. 

Hanji was standing in the lobby with an angry looking Petra who was also complaining to a confused Moblit. Gunmetal eyes scanned the rest of the room before deciding it was probably best to find out what was going on before going to his office. Petra caught sight of him first, eyes filling with tears as she launched herself at him. He caught her easily but winced at the thought of his damp jacket that must be freezing her by now. Hanji was looking manic and Moblit was still looking extremely confused but Levi only spared the man a glance before looking back to the woman in his arms. 

“Petra, what’s wrong?” The woman stifled a sob against his shoulder and he looked back to Hanji who was shaking their head at him already. A sigh worked its way out of his lips. First Eren asserting himself to Erwin, then Eren being a brat, now Petra crying? He wasn’t twenty years old anymore; things like this tired him out. Pulling the blonde woman along with him, Levi walked to his office and sat her in his chair so that he could pull off his coat and hat, hanging them up while setting his bag on the desk. Once everything was in order, he waved Hanji and Moblit in and the two followed like lost puppies. 

“Okay, someone needs to explain to me what is going on right now,” he ordered and was answered with silence. Instead of yelling like he honestly wanted to do, he took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers and thought about how he was too old for this once again. Once he recognized his scent as being normal once again, he took a chance to fully take in Petra’s. It was still sweet, like cookies, like it usually was. It was also tinged with worry and anger which was something that usually only meant one thing. “Where is Erwin?” He asked and everyone in the room seemed to freeze which served as an answer. 

Turning and leaving the room, he mustered as much patience as he could before walking into the blonde’s office only to stare at the unorganized desk. Erwin was nowhere to be found but his office looked like it had been turned upside down. There was no other scent in the room besides his own so there was no reason to worry in Levi’s mind. Next stop was Mike’s office and the Alpha was brooding silently. When Levi walked in, he looked up with an unreadable expression on his face. They stared at one another for a long moment before Levi sighed once again and slumped against the doorframe. 

“I’m getting too old to be a babysitter. First my boyfriend decides to be a brat and run out like a bat out of hell and now I’ve got a crying Omega in my office?” He complains while shutting his eyes. There is no answer, not that he was expecting one. Mike was always the kind to listen and only offer advice when absolutely necessary. “Do you know what’s going on?” He asks though he doesn’t open his eyes because he honestly has a headache right now and a cup of tea sounds amazing but he doesn’t think that he is going to get one any time soon.

“He received a phone call earlier,” Mike says as an answer and for a moment Levi wants to press him but knows Erwin well enough to imagine how the rest of it went. At least, he _knew_ his friend before he started pulling rank on everyone. But Pixis was supposed to take care of it and hopefully that meant he was going to but Levi couldn’t see how that would end up in a trashed office and him storming out. But the raven could have sworn that Petra was staying with some family so what was she doing here? “Have you spoken to your sister at all?” Mike asks and Levi opens his eyes to stare at the other who looks the slightest bit sorry. 

“Why would I have? She hasn’t called or anything,” he explains and the blonde nods before turning away to start looking at some paperwork that he has on his desk. Levi stares for a moment longer before turning away and walking back down the hall. The question about his sister has thrown him off guard and now that has his mind spinning as well. He could very well call Mikasa and ask her to track Erwin down. Hell, she’d probably be glad to do it with now much she doesn’t care for him but that would be breaching his trust. Right?

“Fuck it,” he mutters while marching into his office suddenly. The other three are still in there but he pays them no mind as he moves to his phone, typing in the number he knows so well and holding the device to his ear. It rings, once, twice, before the call connects. There is some colorful swearing and he smirks while listening to the curses fall from her mouth while rustling around. 

_“Fuck,”_ she grumbles and the voice is still distant so he doesn’t say anything until there is more noise. This time it’s louder and he knows that she had finally grabbed the phone to put it to her ear. It was a wonder that nothing bad has happened while she tried to drive while talking on the phone. _“Are you still there, Levi?”_ She asks and he lets out a soft chuckle before shaking his head. 

“You really should stop driving while being on your phone. You’ll die doing that one day,” he scolds while ignoring his audience. Mikasa scoffs in his ear and the sound is so familiar that his chest aches for a moment before he brushes the feeling off. He can hear the sounds of traffic in the background and has to keep himself from really laughing because he only ever heard people honking when he talked on the phone with his sister. 

_“So, what’s up? You got rid of me last time so I figured we would go another few months before talking again,”_ she says and Levi can tell there is a tone of hurt in her voice. It twinges his heart but he pushes that feeling away as well. _She deserved it_ , he reminds himself before also reminding himself of the reason for his phone call.

“I need a favor and I know that you’ll agree to this one,” he starts and he knows that she is interested when there is a particularly loud horn blaring in his ear. The phone jerks away from his ear with a sneer and Petra starts giggling from her place in his chair. As much as he would like to keep her laughing like that, he knows that this phone call runs the high possibility of angering her greatly. Hanji will be worried but extremely impressed that he actually called Mikasa to track Erwin down. 

_“Let me get this straight,”_ she huffs as if she had just run a marathon. The taunting smirk that always pulls on his lips when he speaks to her like this forms and he lets it, doesn’t bother hiding it. _“You’re actually asking me to do some work for you? Is this for your case?”_ She fires off and he huffs another laugh, taking to pacing his office. This could go either way, he thinks as he glances over at Petra before glancing away.

“I need you to track down Erwin. He got a phone call earlier and now no one knows where he is,” he voices and closes his eyes to avoid seeing the looks of the other three in the room. Mikasa is silent on the other end of the line and he would have worried that the line disconnected if it weren’t for the soft hum of the radio that he could barely hear. Levi knew why she was hesitating; this was his best friend of twenty-some years and he was suddenly asking his private detective sister to track him down. 

_“Levi,”_ she murmurs and there is a tone in her voice that makes him want to snap but he doesn’t. Staying silent is the best option for now, he knows this, so he bites at his lip to keep the volatile words from pouring out. _“You do realize what you are asking right?”_ Mikasa asks and he nods then remembers that she can’t see him. Saying the words seem so much more difficult than just the physical movements but he takes a breath and releases his lip. 

“Yeah, I do,” the Omega concedes, free hand dragging through his hair roughly. He knows how the rest of this happens. His sister never does things in halves. Whether or not he asked for it, she would figure out what he has been doing for the past month or so. In the back of his mind he thinks that maybe that has something to do with his behavior, but can’t stop the worry that he is feeling. 

_“Alright. I’ll get to it then and I’ll call you back,”_ she answers before hanging up and he is left clutching onto his phone. There is a soft noise from behind him so he turns and Petra is smiling sadly at him which is almost worse than her being angry with him. He thought that he could handle her being angry and now he wishes that she was. 

“It is pretty bad when it comes down to this, right?” She asks and Levi couldn’t agree more. 

xXx

Hanji knew deadlines, had worked with them for years. For some reason, though, this one felt different. This one felt more final than the rest had felt. They knew what was on the line, knew that it was no different than what had been there before and that no matter what they found almost nothing would change if Eren and Jean didn’t find the money problem. But that didn’t change the sinking feeling in their stomach when they thought about the deadline looming over their head and that they still had yet to make any progress on their work. 

The chemicals were all starting to blend together in front of their eyes and had been for some time. Hanji wasn’t even sure how long they had been sitting there, zoning out on the book, before a knock on the door startled them out of their reverie. Wide brown eyes turned, taking in the awkward blonde that stood in the doorway while staring at her in an extremely concerned manner. There was a pregnant pause where they both seemed to appraise one another before the man cleared his throat.

“I didn’t mean to startle you Doctor Zoe,” Moblit murmured and just his voice calmed them down. He must have seen the relief on their face because he walked into the room and pulled up a seat, perching on it before taking a long minute to really study Hanji’s face. It had been a day since they had found out they were true mates, since Erwin had run off after his mysterious phone call, since Levi had decided to take charge of the office. Hanji was feeling run down just thinking about it. 

“Did you sleep at all last night? You look terrible,” the blonde comments idly and for a moment Hanji just blinks at him, at the bluntness of the comment, before grinning at him. He seems confused so they lean forward to pat his head which just serves to annoy him and so he pushes their hand away only to hold onto it. Hanji’s smile turns into something softer and they turn to face him better. 

“I don’t think that anyone really likes hearing that they look terrible. Especially by their mate,” they joke and Moblit narrows his eyes at the poor attempt at evading his question. Figures that they would get scolded by not only Levi who had been in here about an hour earlier, but Moblit when he stopped in. He had turned to the dark side already. “To answer your question, I was here most of the night actually. I’ve got a cot in my office so I did sleep for a few hours,” the answer was obviously not what he was hoping for but it wasn’t a complete ‘no’ so he couldn’t complain too much. Except apparently he could. 

“Doctor Zoe!” The blonde suddenly scolded, his voice loud in the otherwise quiet room. Hanji winces slightly and hopes he doesn’t notice but of course he does. He reaches up to tug on one of the strands of hair that escaped from their pony tail before granting the scientist a fond smile that warms them in a way they refuse to admit. “I’m only worried about you, you know that right?” Moblit’s voice is soft and Hanji nods before realizing that they are doing it. There is a flush spreading across their cheeks and Moblit notices it and laughs, leaning forward and bumping his noise against their’s in an affectionate gesture. 

“I just need to figure out what the other chemical that they used is, you know?” They whined softly while returning the gesture. Moblit hummed in his throat, pulling back with a thoughtful expression on his face. Hanji knew this expression well; it was one that meant he was willing to sit here and listen to them rant and rave about something only to say something completely mind blowing that they hadn’t thought of before. He always seemed to help without ever really trying to. 

“Well, what have you tried so far?” He asked and Hanji turned to their desk once again, leaving their hand in the Omega’s which made him smile. It was a process to go through once again even with him here and the scientist didn’t want to stress him out with anything but it was nice having him here to help out. Especially since Armin had taken to working at home while Erwin was on his power trip. Not that their partner in crime had been helping with the chemicals, but it had been nice to have someone in the lab with them.

“I’ve looked at all the samples we have once again from the remains of the lab and haven’t found anything. We know for sure that acetic acid was used, but we aren’t sure what was mixed with it to set it up in flames so I was trying to test for something – anything – but haven’t found traces of any other substances. Which is strange because it is a lab with who knows how many chemicals in it, though depending on the burning point of everything there is a chance that it all burned off,” they explained and they knew without looking that Moblit’s green eyes were looking over the scribbled test results that Hanji had been writing down all last night and this morning. 

He was quiet, mulling it over in his head. The pictures of the accident were pinned up on the board in front of them and Hanji saw him look up at it, though he wasn’t surprised to see the destruction. They wanted to ask if he had been there, been to see it in person, but at the same time they wanted to silently enjoy the look of complete concentration on his face. If Moblit couldn’t come up with anything then they would call Armin and see what he said and if the little blonde couldn’t help then… 

“Did you happen to take any samples from outside or anything?” Moblit suddenly asked and Hanji turned surprised brown eyes on him. He was still looking up at the pictures with a frown that said he was still thinking and so they just stared at him in silence until he noticed their stare and turned to them. “It’s just – Mr. Smith told me, during my interview, that the men who did it exited the building on foot. So, they had to have poured the missing chemical all over the place, right? Which probably means that some of it got on their shoes or something and they had to have tracked it outside,” he explained and stood to take a step closer to Hanji with another frown. 

“This door over here,” he pointed towards an exit that was mostly still intact from the explosion with his free hand. “Is the only one from that entire building that didn’t have a security camera. It was a fire exit but, depending on the time frame of the whole thing, it would have taken about five minutes for the guys to walk across the entire building,” he finished and looked towards Haji who was staring up at the pictures and to their notes then back once again. Then it clicked. They rose from their chair with a screech and pressed a loud kiss to Moblit’s startled mouth before rushing over to the other side of the lab where the list of stuff was.

“You are a genius! No matter what chemical it was that the acid was mixed with, it would have taken a little over five minutes to mix together and create that spark!” They chattered on while digging through the papers until they found the one they needed. It was a small bag, inconsequential in the scheme of things but it would break this case. Hanji looked back over to Moblit with a wide smile, startled by the bright blush on the man’s face and it took a moment to realize why. When they did realize, their face heated up but they definitely didn’t regret it. 


	6. Come Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin shows up, Eren is a total babe, Petra and Eren are adorable, Fluff, Historia is actually in this chapter, Ackerman family time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. This time around there is more conversation stuff. Sorry it's a day late. I couldn't get my computer to work but it's here! I swear it! 
> 
> I also think there are more grammar errors in this one but I'm not sure. You'll have to let me know if you find any. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been roughly twenty-one hours and thirty-five minutes since Erwin got the phone call that had him running out the door. Levi’s patience was wearing thin, not because Petra was sleeping over on his couch right now, not because Hanji kept coming in his office to check on her, but because of the amount of phone calls he had to suffer through because that asshole decided to play hookie. The raven swore as he slammed the phone down for the fifth time within the past hour, that when Erwin came back he would murder him. This whole be-nice-on-the-phone-thing wasn’t for him. It was more obnoxious than he had accounted for. 

There was a soft laugh from across the room and his eyes raised from his desk slowly, to find Petra sitting and covering her mouth while watching him glare at his phone. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time instead of throwing the offending object against the wall with frustration. It was something that he could see himself actually doing. Apparently Petra could see him doing the same thing because she stood, knocking her blanket off her shoulders, and walked over just to slide it away from him a few inches. 

“How about we don’t go breaking office supplies today, alright?” She asked with another giggle and as annoyed as Levi was, he just couldn’t bring himself to snap at her so he sighed instead and shot her a glare. They were quiet for a moment before the blonde decided they needed to share the chair, climbing into Levi’s lap and pressing her forehead against his neck with a wet sniffle. This would be the third round of tears since he had gotten here today. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. 

“I don’t know what else I can do for you, Petra,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace that she seemed to need. Despite how unwilling he was with most people about PDA, there were few that he would willingly indulge: Eren and Petra. The two of them had realized this fact soon after meeting and took advantage of it as much as possible, though never to the point of making the raven uncomfortable which he greatly appreciated. 

“I don’t know either, Levi,” she whispered and his heart broke a little with how small she sounded. They were quiet for some time before a knock on the door interrupted them. A fond smile and foxfire eyes greeted them and for a moment Levi worried that Eren would be upset but a quick scent of the air made him relax. Petra made a move to stand but Eren shook his head quickly, walking in and resting a hand on Levi’s shoulder. 

“You’re fine, Petra,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the raven’s temple before moving around the chair to press a quick kiss to the blonde’s cheek. It was something that he had asked both Petra and Levi about before, stating that she reminded him of his mother and it was how he had always greeted her. That, of course, came with intense stuttering and blushing, but was ended with a ‘yes’ by both Omegas. Good thing that Erwin hadn’t been around for any of that, though Levi was sure Eren wouldn’t have done it in front of the other man. He was too polite for that. 

Petra sniffled more, glancing up to Levi who just stared down at her for a moment before letting up with a sigh. Eren seemed confused but watched as Petra hurriedly climbed out of the raven’s lap and pressed herself against the young Alpha’s chest with silent tears streaming down her face. The brunet, clearly panicked, looked over to Levi who just shrugged before turning back to his desk to hide his smile. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eren wrap his arms around Petra and fit her under his chin, though it was a bit funnier because she was shorter than Levi so it was a bit more awkward. 

The comfort of the young Alpha seemed to ease more of her pain because the tears stopped sooner and the distress in her scent slowly going away until just a mild worry was left. It was a comfort to both Levi and Eren that the simple hug had done so much for her, though Levi knew it went beyond that. After Eren had admitted that Petra was a motherly figure to him, he had seen Petra crying. It was a thing he wouldn’t understand, would probably never understand, but deep down he knew that she had needed to hear those words. To hear that she was seen as a mother to someone. To hear she was needed in such a way.

“How are you feeling?” Eren asked and Levi turned to look at her as well, a reluctant smile pulling at his lips when he saw Eren trying to manipulate Petra in a way so that he could see her face. The brunet huffed though he was smiling and he glanced up at Levi before his fingers skirted down the blonde’s sides. Levi shook his head in warning, smile still on his face, but Eren didn’t listen. His fingers dug in and Petra squealed, peals of laughter ringing out in the office as Eren tickled her relentlessly. She tried to step away but he followed, his own laughter ringing in along with hers. 

There were loud footsteps from the hallway and a questioning sound that stopped just behind him so Levi glance over to see Hanji and Mike watching with identical confused smiles on their faces. Eren continued for a moment before finally releasing the blonde Omega with another laugh of his own, leaning down and bracing himself on his knees to catch his breath while Petra leaned against Levi’s desk. Everyone was quiet for a moment before Levi chuckled. 

“It’s about time you laughed,” he grumbled though it was obvious that he was anything but mad. Honey eyes are gazing over at him with surprise but he can see that she was realizing just how much she had affected him as well. If the lack of tension in his posture and warmth in his eyes were anything to go by. 

“I’m so sorry, you guys,” she mumbled and was about to say something else when Eren reached over, tickling her once again. Hanji started to cackle and even Levi laughed. Though Eren quit quickly, Petra was still out of breath and protecting her sides, glancing over at the brunet every few moment. The Alpha was grinning fondly at her, still leaning against his knees and Levi marveled at the sight at his little family that had gathered in his office.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. You should know that,” Eren scolded and Petra turned to him, surprise glittering in her eyes before a small frown pulled at her lips that Levi knew all too well. Time for the brat to get scolded by the mother hen. Eren was confused for a moment, not understanding the sudden change in moods. Though once he noticed the blush that had started to stain her cheeks he understood the embarrassment. 

“Don’t take that tone with me, Mr.! I can still kick your ass, Eren!” She threatened and Levi outright laughed, head falling back against his chair while imagining the sight of the small blonde kicking his Alpha’s ass. It was something that would probably never happen, but would definitely be threatened on a regular basis, he was sure. When he opened his eyes, both Eren and Petra were smiling at him and he didn’t dare turn to see what terrifying expression Hanji had on their face. 

“Well,” Petra stated, standing and straightening her clothes from Eren’s attack. “I am going to spend time with Hanji now because the two of you are ganging up on me,” she continued and Hanji cackled once again but held out an arm for the blonde to take. Eren looked a little put out by the statement but smiled nonetheless, waving slightly at the two. Mike just shook his head, waving at Eren before turning and walking away and soon enough it was just the two of them left in Levi’s office. Then, the raven could fully admire what his mate was wearing. 

The brunet was wearing a simple pair of black slack that had Levi trying not to swallow his own tongue. Honestly, where did this kid get all these pants that made his legs look like they were given to him by a god? The button up shirt he was wearing had come untucked in his little attack on Petra but that didn’t matter because the slightly disheveled look was working far too well for him and Levi really wanted to let his hands wander. The brunet was busy fixing his tie, though the raven quickly stood up and stopped him, anxious to get his hands on any part of the Alpha. 

Eren seemed to understand because he simply curled his fingers over Levi’s hips and pulled him closer while lifting his chin so the tie could be tightened. Once done, the raven’s deft fingers ran down the front of his chest to start tucking his shirt in. Eren sucked in a sharp breath and held it while the Omega smirked up at him. There was a long moment where neither of them said anything until Levi was finished fixing Eren’s shirt and his hands were in a safer area. The Alpha looked down with a sharp smile and Levi shivered under the heated gaze. 

“We are in public you know. I don’t have an issue with it,” Eren murmured, leaning down to brush his lips against Levi’s in a tease. The raven rose up on his toes but Eren retreated to keep the light brush as it was. “But I’m sure you would and I won’t be responsible for my actions, darling,” he finished and it took Levi a minute but when he registered the words heat sparked through his body and he gazed up at Eren who smirked back down at him. Their lips met and though the raven wanted a deeper kiss, Eren kept it light. 

“Plus, I think your friend is here,” the brunet whispered with the hint of a growl in his voice. It wasn’t a growl that heated his blood with arousal, but with a pleasure that an Omega felt when being taken care of by his Alpha. He leaned back to look up at Eren, eyes confused until he scented the air and got a whiff of pine trees and his eyes narrowed in annoyance. There was only one person that scent belonged too. A knock at his door confirmed his suspicions, though Eren was the one that greeted him. 

“Mr. Smith, how are you?” He asked and Levi ran his hands down his mate’s arms to feel the flex in his biceps as he spoke. Just being around the blonde Alpha was enough to put Eren on edge now, though Levi could understand why. Eren was the one that was getting the brunt of the attack with the blonde’s attitude. Especially since Petra had started staying with a friend, Hanji refused to speak to him, Mike not being in the office, and Levi not having time for his shit. 

“Eren, nice to see you,” he greeted shortly, pupils dilated and posture stiff. Levi kept his eyes on his mate’s face for a moment longer, watching his jaw work to keep his aggression in check. Gunmetal eyes then turned to see Erwin shifting in his doorway awkwardly, glancing down the hallway in a paranoid manner. Once their eyes connected, Eren huffed but managed to keep himself in check which Levi found incredibly surprising. “Levi, is there any way that I could have a word with you?” At that comment, Eren snapped his teeth and the raven let out a pleased hum, but the brunet glanced down at his Omega in question. It was impressive self-control. 

“I suppose we need to speak at some point today, but I’m not speaking to you until you talk to Petra,” he ordered with a finality in his voice that had Eren pulling him a little tighter against his body. The raven reveled in the look of panic that passed over Erwin’s face at the mention of his wife but he nodded and turned down the hallway. The two mates stood silent for a moment before turning to each other in astonishment. “I can’t believe that went that well,” Levi whispered and Eren agreed quickly. For a moment they just stared at one another until a loud screech broke through the air and the raven watched Eren wince at the sound. The raven could only imagine what Eren’s Alpha was feeling just having to listen to the angry Omega down the hall. It was something that Alphas tried to avoid at all costs. 

Then then got to eavesdrop to the sound of Erwin being yelled at by Petra which should have made Levi feel good, but it really only made him feel worse so he pulled away from his mate and started to grab his things. Eren made a questioning noise, still grimacing at the shouting from the hallway but Levi grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the waiting area where the brunet’s coat was. He quickly caught on and slipped on while Levi called for the elevator and once it arrived the two jumped on, sighing in relief when the doors finally closed. 

“Thank god,” Levi grumbled, leaning back against the wall. His head lolled to the side to see Eren rubbing at his temples. The sight worried him more than he liked to admit so he reached up to press a cool hand against the nape of Eren’s neck soothingly. The Alpha instantly relaxed against the touch and turned to Levi with a grateful smile that had his heart warming. 

“Thanks, babe,” he smiled and reached out to take Levi’s briefcase so that the raven could slip his jacket on. It was cold out, colder than it had been all year. Levi blamed it on the fact that the snow had waited until the very end of November to start falling, but who knew. Many blamed global warming but… Karma. Late snowfall, colder winter. He would have taken more months of snow if it meant warmer temperatures throughout the season, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen. As if reading his mind, Eren caged him in against the wall, wrapping him up in an embrace with his face pressed to the raven’s inky locks. 

“It’s cold outside today,” he complained and Levi chuckled, squeezing the brunet back. There was nowhere else that he would rather be than at home, wrapped up in the sheets with Eren, but work needed to be done. Which brought up another question in his mind. 

“You never told me that you’d be stopping by. Much less that I would be seeing you awake or out of sweatpants,” he suddenly added, moving back just enough to look up at Eren’s face. The blush started out light but quickly darkened to a point that Levi just had to laugh and wonder what the hell the kid had gotten up to. 

“Well, I know that me being around less has caused some stress on us,” he confessed and Levi noted that he didn’t specifically state that it was causing stress on just the Omega. He was glad that Eren was just affected by their distance as he was. It was comforting. “So, I thought that I could take a bit of a break to maybe take you to lunch? If you don’t have other plans?” He asked hopefully and honestly, how could the raven ever say no to such an honest smile? 

“I have a meeting with Historia later, but I think I can pencil you in,” he mumbled against his mate’s lips. 

xXx

“Levi,” a smooth, velvety voice came and the raven didn’t need to turn to know who it was. A very similar but female version of him walked up from behind him and took the seat across from his at the café. He took a leisurely sip of his tea while Mikasa flagged the waiter and ordered herself a coffee before turning to her brother with a sigh falling from her lips. The siblings took a long minute to just take in the sight of one another before starting their conversation. Levi noted the fact that Mikasa had a bandage wrapped around one of her wrists but knew better than to start that argument in a public place. It had happened once before and he wouldn’t do it again. 

“You’re late,” he muttered before taking another long sip of his tea and was rewarded with a hefty glare. A smirk curled his lips as he sat his cup down to fold his hands in his lap. Mikasa watched him closely, as if afraid she would miss any small movement of his. She had always been like that, he mused while staring back at her quietly. She had once wanted to be just like him. “What did you find out?” He finally asked and she seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts she had been lost in, looking him in the eyes before shifting in her chair. 

“He should have arrived this morning,” it was posed as a question and Levi nodded in response with a dismissive wave of his hand. This was something minor that he didn’t care about. Erwin had been acting like a brat and he wanted to know why. 

“Yes, but I figured that speaking to his wife should come before speaking to me about anything,” he explained and Mikasa nodded shortly, the conversation pausing as her drink arrived. Fluttering her lashes unnecessarily, she thanked the waiter who flushed and stuttered before rushing away. There was a moment while she stared after him that Levi was reminded that tricking people into thinking she was something fake was what she did for a living but he didn’t let the thought linger. When he looked back up she was staring at him in the same stony look that he used to stare at people. 

“I’ve always hated him, you know,” she grumbled and Levi smirked. This was the exact reason that he had asked her to do this for him. There were a few private detectives that he had met in his days of being a lawyer, but Mikasa had always been the one to come through the best. Familial ties probably helped the situation. “He has been up to some strange things in the past year, Levi. What is going on?” She asked and the Omega got the feeling that something was wrong. If the nature of the statement wasn’t an indication, then the rise in her protective Alpha scent certainly did it. 

“I’m not sure. Petra has been out of the country with work for about the entire year. She arrived a few days before we got this case and he didn’t start acting out of the ordinary until Eren started coming around,” he explained and the Alpha frowned, thinking while taking a drink of her coffee. Levi’s mind was also working on overdrive. What was it about Eren that had Erwin on edge? 

“I don’t know what he has been telling you, but Petra has been home multiple times during the year. When she is, he is dragging her out to those fancy parties that the richer part of Sina society holds. When she isn’t, that is where he spends his free time,” Mikasa started and Levi listened closely, leaning forward and resting his elbows onto the table. He hadn’t known that Erwin was hanging with that crowd of people again. Last he had heard, shitty eyebrows couldn’t stand the proper scene for more than a simple meal much less regular parties. And to drag Petra along when she was home? It was something that the raven hadn’t known Erwin to do before because he usually liked to monopolize his mate’s time when she was home. So what had him dragging her out?

“What else did you find? Anything about why the sudden interest with the high life?” He asked, taking a sip of his lukewarm tea. Thinking back about what Pixis said about Eren being a threat some of it made sense. Maybe he was trying to get solid footing? It was something that he didn’t understand and probable never would. 

“Nothing that I can get right off the top in just a day. When he ran off yesterday he met with one of the lower guys from the financial department at S.R.M. The guy brought him to Rose Suites and from what I can tell he was there overnight. But, like I said, I can only do so much in one day,” she said and mimicked his position though when he tried to move away she stopped him with a look. He took a quick glance around and noticed that there was someone sitting a few tables away that was watching them closely. They were terrible at being inconspicuous. They needed to get out of the open. 

“You have anything going on right now?” He asked finally, sitting back nonchalantly before downing the rest of his tea which was cold by now. Mikasa looked confused for a moment before understanding lit up her eyes. She shook her head and took one last drink of her coffee before pulling out her wallet. Levi watched as she pulled out some money to pay for her drink and leave a tip as well as a slip of paper with her phone number on it. It was a usual occurrence but it never failed to bother him. Mikasa looked up at him and he could see his own thoughts in her eyes so he looked away with a huff. 

“I take it I’m coming with you to work?” She asked, suddenly standing beside him while tugging her scarf around her neck. It had been a gift from Eren, one that Levi was surprised the Alpha had gotten. They hadn’t met yet, but his mate had thought to get his sister a gift. Even though it was just a scarf, bright red which happened to be her favorite color, it had made Mikasa blush and stutter through a series of words that Levi was sure were meant to show her appreciation. It was actually heartwarming. Now she never seemed to part with it which made Eren happier than words could ever convey. 

“You know it. I think I’m going to need your help,” he grumbled as they walked away. He managed not to flinch away in shock when his sister looped their arms together and huddled closer to him against the cold. At least that was what he told himself until he glanced over at her shy smile. With a fond glare of his own, he nudged closer and the two made their way to her car down the block in a comfortable silence that lasted until they reached Ms. Historia Reiss’s current abode. 

The prison she was currently being held at was large and loomed over them as they pulled up. The guards stopped them at the gate, Mikasa grumbled which made Levi snicker. She always hated dealing with people in any wort of uniform. Not that he particularly enjoyed it either, but. After handing over both of their I.D.’s and waiting for the approval (Levi had called ahead and let them know that he was bringing along a consultant on the case). It had taken a solid five minutes which grated on the Omega’s nerves because his meeting was for ten minutes ago and these assholes didn’t bother to hurry themselves up. 

Finally they were let in and they parked and were led in by another armed guard. Honestly, the things that people could do to these guards were ridiculous. One glance at Mikasa and Levi figured she was thinking the exact same thing. He snorted at how alike they were. After stripping off their winter gear and emptying their pockets, and Levi having his briefcase checked, then they were led down a series of halls to a private interviewing room. These rooms never failed to make the Omega claustrophobic but having Mikasa there was actually a great help. Though he wasn’t sure how that would affect Historia considering that she was also an Omega. 

The far door opened so Levi stood and watched as a small girl with shocking blonde hair walked in and for a moment Levi was in awe of her beauty. He knew the aesthetic of beautiful women and this small blonde was stunning. She was eye catching and would have heads turning in her direction as soon as she walked in a room, he was sure of it. Her eyes were the clearest blue that he had ever seen, something that belonged to oceans. Maybe even skies on a cloudless day. Even the hideous beige jumpsuit that she wore didn’t take from her looks which was somewhat upsetting to him. 

The guard behind her smirked at his reaction, clearly used to seeing it, and he glowered in her direction. Nanaba was one of the only guards that Levi got along with, with her personality being so mild. Though, with Historia and her striking beauty around, it seemed to be changing quite a bit. Historia on the other hand was a nervous wreck and it showed. She was shaking and the Omega could only guess that her hands were sweating. Her scent, which Levi guessed usually smelled something floral, was muted and sour. It made his nose wrinkle and when her blue eyes caught the action she smiled apologetically. Sharp eyes. 

“Take care of her, Levi,” Nanaba said, unlocking the handcuffs and waving the other guard out the door despite her protests. The raven nodded and motioned for the blonde to sit down but her eyes were looking past him warily. He then remembered that Mikasa was in the room so he turned. His sister had pushed herself back against the wall and was looking down at the table. The set of her shoulders was stiff and he could knew why because Eren was the same, only it was far worse with his Alpha. Mikasa could scent how nervous and worried Historia was and it was Alpha nature to comfort an Omega in distress so she was fighting back her own instincts at the moment. It didn’t help that they were in a very small room with limited breathing space. 

“Don’t mind her. She is just trying to not smother you,” Levi waved his hand through the air slightly before sitting down and moving his chair directly in front of his sister. Historia caught the act and smiled before sitting down in a similar fashion, folding her hands on top of the table. Hefting his briefcase onto the tabletop, the raven sighed heartily which made the blonde laugh. “I am Levi Ackerman and this is my sister Mikasa who is consulting on your case,” he explained, looking back up at her. 

The blue eyes that swirled and swayed so much like the ocean were staring back at him intently, making him shift in his chair. She was studying him, analyzing his every move and reaction to what she did. Hanji had done the same thing when they met and still continued to do it to this day, though he was used to seeing her do it. It was different when the eyes that were staring at you were blue enough to light up an entire room. 

“I’m Historia Reiss. It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” she offered finally, raising a hand from the table and offering it to him. He took it gratefully and shook it, watching with amusement as the blonde then offered Mikasa her outstretched hand as well. The Alpha took a stiff step forward and for a moment, Levi worried that her grip would break the poor blonde’s hand but that fear washed away as soon as he saw how carefully Mikasa cradled the hand. Historia seemed amused because she smiled and withdrew her hand slowly before returning her attention to Levi, eyes narrowing and head tilting to the side. 

“I am confused as to why you two are here today, though,” the statement confused Levi who narrowed his eyes in response. She seemed to take this the wrong way because her back straightened even further and her hands waved in front of her nervously. “Not that I don’t appreciate the visit or anything. It’s just that I talked to Pixis this morning all ready. He filled me in on what was happening and asked me a bunch of questions,” she explained and Levi sat back in his chair, turning to look at Mikasa who had yet to return to her spot against the wall. The Alpha seemed just as confused. 

“He was asking questions about the case?” Levi asked and Historia nodded in confirmation. It was rare that the old man voluntarily got involved in a case, though maybe it was because this one was more personal. Why hadn’t he just come to the office to ask about it? “What a strange guy. Usually he comes to the office first to let us know that he wants to get involved. Instead he goes and just does his own thing,” Levi knows that he is ranting but can’t help the bubble of annoyance that takes over as he snaps his briefcase open. Historia giggled though while folding her hands together, calming again. 

“He’s known me since I was young so I’m sure it was more of a social call than anything. Since Father is so busy with work I told him not to visit unless he has extra time. He calls on a regular basis though, so that makes it alright,” she explains and that eases some of the irritation, but still. Why is the old man butting in all of a sudden without any warning? Plus, he is supposed to go and fix things with Erwin but instead shitty eyebrows goes and runs off without a trace for an entire day. 

“That makes sense,” Mikasa suddenly adds, walking over and sitting in a chair that was pulled up in the corner. Historia watched her walk before returning her eyes to Levi who shuffled some papers around before finding the ones he needed. “So, the reason for my visit is more to talk over with you what court will be like. We are hoping to put it off as long as possible but with the pretrial date coming up in just a few days, you and I need to touch base,” he informed, setting his papers on the table before closing his case and setting it at his feet. Historia nodded in confirmation. 

“You are the one that handles most everything in the courtrooms, right?” Gunmetal eyes glanced up at the blonde before returning to his papers once again. He nodded and set them out, grabbing a pen to write notes in the margins of the pages. This was the one thing that he was capable of doing for this case right now and he was going to do it well. 

“I want to start off by telling you that I believe that you are 100-percent innocent, Historia. There isn’t a single bone in my body that thinks you did this,” he states, looking up at her in time to catch her surprised expression. It had to have been a while since anyone told her that, the fact that they believed that she didn’t do it. Everyone had been saying the exact same thing lately, that there was no proof, no way that she couldn’t have. “So, I don’t know how you feel about it, but I want to plead not guilty even though that means going to trial.” He heard a sharp of intake of surprise from behind him and knew that Mikasa was just as shocked at Historia was. It was a well-known fact that Levi hated trials. 

“Are you sure? Their evidence against me seems solid and when Pixis was here earlier he said that nothing definite had been found to help me yet,” the blonde whispered but she hadn’t rejected the idea so Levi was still going with the idea that she was going to agree. Had this case come a year ago, six months ago, he would have plead guilty and worked to fix the sentence down to something minimal then called for an appeal. But, this case had hope. The people on this case were working tirelessly to make sure that she didn’t go down for something that she obviously didn’t do. 

“I’m going to tell you something that you might not believe, hell that I wouldn’t have believed until two months ago, but there are some incredible people in this world. We have some of the most amazing interns right now, that volunteered their time after hearing about your case, just so that you wouldn’t go down for this,” he started and watched as her surprise turned into something more, something deeper. “They, along with our regular staff, are working tirelessly to find everything they can to help you and we aren’t going down without a fight. Understand?” He finished and for a moment worried that he had gone too far. Tears started to roll down her cheeks and she hid her face from him for a long moment before looking back up with a determined smile. 

“Let’s do this.” 

xXx

“Are you going to explain why you suddenly disappeared?” Levi asked, startling Erwin out of his trancelike state. The blonde had been staring off into space when the Omega walked into the room, being warned by Petra that he was acting weird, but he hadn’t expected this. This was just too weird. “First you go crazy and mess up your OCD office, then you go missing without a trace, and now your staring off into space like you’re on drugs,” he continued, entering Erwin’s study and sitting in the chair opposite him. After a long pause, Levi cast him a suspicious glance that Erwin returned blankly. “You aren’t on drugs, are you?”

“For god sake’s, Levi,” Erwin cursed and turned his eyes back to the fire in front of him. The Omega took that as enough of an answer before helping himself to some scotch. It was a quiet five minutes, long enough for Levi to finish his drink, before Erwin finally opened his mouth to say something. “I got a call from my uncle and he needed some help with something,” he explained shortly. Levi cast him another quick glance before looking back to the fire. 

It would have been believable because Pixis did things like that all the time, but Levi had called him on the way over here to see if that had been the case this time around. It hadn’t which was what had him concerned. There was also the information that Mikasa had told him about today that was spinning through his mind as he tried to come up with an answer. Was he working another angle of this case that he wasn’t talking about? What was with him not telling anyone about Petra being home so much over the past year or him spending so much time with the higher part of society? He hated snobs. 

“Is that so?” He challenged and saw Erwin turn to him with a nasty look in his eyes, mouth in a firm line. This wasn’t something that he did often. Though when it did, things got dangerous. Briefly he wished that Eren was here but that would probably cause more problems than lead him to solving them. “What was it that he had you working on? Usually he calls me as well and I haven’t heard anything,” he continued, turning his hard stare onto the Alpha. Erwin was projecting his scent again and Levi felt his lip curling in a snarl. 

“Watch your place, Levi. This is my territory you are in,” Erwin stated with a rough growl. That was answer enough and, to save upsetting Petra further, he stood quickly. The action tore a snarl from Erwin though instead of buckling under the sound like he would have previously he just straightened up and snarled back. It was nothing compared to Eren’s. He stared down at the blonde for a moment longer before walking away, out of the room and into the kitchen where Petra was gripping onto the countertop so hard her knuckles were white. She heard the raven enter the room and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. 

“Levi,” she whimpered, lip wobbling and tears threatening to spill over. Levi frowned and walked to her, wrapping her in a hug that she gratefully returned. There was a long pause where Petra clung to him, though Levi was distracted. His senses were on high alert because they weren’t safe here, weren’t safe with Erwin around. Now would be a brilliant time to have his mate around and he was seriously regretting not asking him to come along. Fuck starting a war. 

“Petra, I want you to come stay with me,” he whispered, lips barely moving with the words. She stilled in his arms breath catching before glancing up at him and nodding shortly. She moved quickly, efficiently. She still had a bag packed from being at her friend’s, but Levi had no doubt that she would be borrowing clothing, but for now she could do as she pleased. Once that was done he grabbed her hand and they quickly made their way through the house to the front door where they slipped their shoes on and slipped into the night. 

Once back at Levi’s apartment, they opened the door to find no Eren which, for the moment, Levi knew to be a good thing. Since he didn’t’ have another bed, Petra insisted on camping on the couch because she didn’t want to keep him awake. So after the two of them changed into color coordinated pajama pants and two of Eren’s sweaters, they curled up to watch a movie. Petra made it about half way before falling asleep curled around a pillow with her eyes red from crying. Levi sat by her side, afraid that moving would wake her up and prompt more tears. 

Eren came home soon after, quiet as he slipped his shoes off and hung his coat up. Levi glanced at the clock and saw it was roughly one o’clock in the morning but he honestly couldn’t care. Having Eren home meant that he was safe, that Petra was safe. When Eren came around the corner, Levi watched as his eyes slid from his mate to Petra curled on the couch. His eyes lit up like the fire they reminded him of, only with the anger that he obviously felt. There was a sharp spike in his scent as it surrounded him and Levi’s responded in kind, though it was a call for protection. 

Somehow Petra managed to sleep through it all and the raven slowly removed himself from her side, moving her around until she was curled more safely on the couch and in no danger of falling off. He threw some blankets over her and turned the T.V. off before turning to Eren. The Alpha pressed a hand to his abdomen gently but passed to Petra. The blonde Omega turned in response to his close proximity and the brunet leaned down to press a sweet kiss to her hair before straightening up and herding his mate to the bedroom. 

Having to explain to his mate what happened with Erwin was nothing short of an adventure. It entailed more wrestling than Levi ever thought possible, distracting kisses, and bite marks that he would need to hide if he wanted to save his dignity. Though, with the sight of his marks on Eren’s neck as well, he thought it wouldn’t be so bad. The brunet was snarling, growling, tearing up the pillows in a fit of aggression like the beast he was and Levi was rolling in it. 

He had never seen an Alpha so out of his mind with rage, yet careful to not harm his mate. It was a sight to see and one that he was seriously enjoying. Though, he would rather have the Alpha’s hands on his skin. So, with that in mind, he crawled forward slowly so as not to catch the other’s attention in a bad way. Burning eyes snapped to him and for a moment he froze, but a heat in his stomach warmed his veins and pushed him forward. They moved in sync, almost like a dance, on the bed and when they met in the middle it was with a passionate kiss. 

Eren broke it off with a feral growl that had Levi shivering in the brunet’s warm hold. It was safety, love, home. This was what it meant to be with mate. The Alpha’s lips found his ear and the words were snarled were possessive in every sense of the word. 

_“Mine.”_


	7. Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin and Hanji and a lot more alike then they seem, Armin is a genius, Eren and Jean break the case, Eren just breaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is uploaded a few days late! I've been a bit busy slowly moving from one job into my new one. It should slow down soon enough and my chapters should have less mistakes and probably make a bit more sense. 
> 
> I did read through this one quickly, but in sure that I missed some things, so let me know if you see something!

Armin sighed, face pressed to the desk again as he closed his eyes. He was so tired, having gotten roughly twelve hours of sleep over the past two days. It was the exact same thing and looking for pressure differences in signatures by hand was tiring when you really got down to it. He knew that Jean and Eren had been getting less sleep then he had gotten, looking over much more extensive things, but he wasn’t used to staying up this long looking at exactly the same thing over and over again. It was starting to wear on his nerves. 

Distantly he heard a door closing but his eyes were firmly closed and he wasn’t planning on opening them for anything any time soon so he just sighed in contentment when there was finally silence throughout the apartment. He wasn’t sure how long he was there, but there were arms picking him up so he curled into the warmth, smiling at the deep rumble of a laugh under his ear. After a moment he was put down on something soft that he assumed was the bed, but what felt like a cloud to his weary body. A groan spilled from his lips and he blearily reached out for his heat source who laughed distantly before returning to remove his jeans. 

Whining into the chilly room, he made grabby hands at the Alpha who just snorted at the sight before heaving the blonde towards the pillows and tucking him under the blankets before crawling in after him. Armin smiled and pushed himself half on top of the other who laughed again while threading their fingers through his hair. Armin was just about asleep again when he heard the other wish him sweet dreams. Instead of sweet dreams, Armin dreamt of hour glasses and falling sand. It was something that itched at the back of his mind into the stages of wakefulness. 

When the blonde opened his eyes the next morning, his Alpha was nowhere to be seen. He pouted, curling up against the other’s pillow and inhaling the intoxicating scent that calmed him almost back to the point of sleep. He was just on the cusp of dreamland again when hands started to slide up his legs, under the blankets. A smile crossed his features but he smothered it with the pillow in his arms. The Alpha laughed but continued the path with their hands, over his hips and under the edge of his large shirt. A large body shifted to hover over his own and he risked a look up. 

He was glad he did, though the sight left him extremely flustered. Jean was freshly showered and hadn’t put his three facial piercings back in so he looked a bit bare and his ears looked the same from what Armin had seen before he smashed his face back into the pillow. This close and fresh from the shower, Jean’s scent was stronger and Armin was absolutely drowning in it. He felt his blood burning in his veins and, risking a glance up at his Alpha, he wasn’t hiding it very well. The other had a grin slowly spreading across his face that spelled all kinds of trouble for Armin. He knew that he was going to be spending a few more hours in bed if Jean had anything to say about it. 

xXx

Standing at the kitchen counter, Armin watched the sugar spill from the scoop into the container while he refilled it. It reminded him of his dream which left something, some thought, just out of reach in his mind. It was bothering him. So much so that even Jean had noticed enough to stop his work to ask if he was alright. Though, that could have been because he had been pouring sugar back and forth between containers for over an hour. Eren had just smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his head before joining Jean at the coffee table. Thank god he hadn’t mentioned the sugar.

What was it with the shifting of the grains? It was the way they were catching on one another and falling down the rest of the way. He wondered if some of the grains would stay balanced on a fork if he tried it. So, he grabbed a fork and started to pour the sugar over the fork while marveling over the fact that some of the grains did in fact stay on the tongs. It was something that he wouldn’t have thought would happen because sugar always seemed to flow. He stopped, standing straighter and staring down at the sugar in his two containers. What about sand? Would sand do the same thing? Would it catch in the grooves on paper? 

“AHH!” He yelled, startling both Alphas who had taken to ignoring him playing with sugar in the kitchen. Armin then started running around the apartment, trying to find his cellphone and socks at the same time. Cellphone came first so he could call Hanji and tell them his theory. Jean watched him move around, half concerned and half awed over the fact that he could manage to put socks on while navigating his phone. Eren could do the same so it wasn’t anything spectacular to him. 

“Hanji!” He yelled when the scientist answered the phone. Hanji cackled into the receiver and for a moment the blonde worried over the fact that he was slowly becoming more like them, but if that meant he could become even half as brilliant as they were then that was perfectly fine with him. “Do we have any sugar, sand, or anything like that in the lab?” He continued, voice still loud in the otherwise quiet apartment. The Beta didn’t even question the randomness, just hummed before there was some rustling around. 

_“Levi probably has some sugar we can steal if you want that. Or we have this weird black powdery sand stuff,”_ Hanji mumbles and Armin shoves some gloves on his hands, putting the phone on speaker so he can start collecting the papers for the evidence testing he needs to do. He hears someone standing up and coming up behind him only to snap some gloves on and help packing up the careful piles he has laid out. Jean smiles at him when Armin glances over and the blonde feels his heart swell at the sight but the affection is going to have to wait until later. _“I don’t actually know what this is, so I can’t safely say you can use it,”_ the scientist adds with a muffled voice. 

“You sound like you’re eating it,” he adds mildly and listens to Hanji protest loudly, laughing in response to their curses. Once everything is packed up, Jean offers him a jacket and scarf which he takes gratefully. His shoes go on next and then a hat. A hand is holding out his bag and he turns to see Jean who had literally followed him around the apartment like a puppy to help him get ready which is so incredibly sweet that it makes him ache. “Be there in a bit,” he says and hangs up before Hanji can say anything else. The Alpha takes his cue to fix the blonde’s bag on his body and fusses with it until he is satisfied, stepping back and giving a nod of approval. 

“You act like I’m going to battle or something,” Armin mumbles, face heating at the look in his Alpha’s eyes but Jean just shrugs. There is a moment where the Omega wonders if Jean is going to kiss him but then the blonde is stepping back with a kind smile and Armin actually feels disappointed so before he can think about it, he wraps a hand around the back of Jean’s neck and captures his lips in a deep kiss. He can hear Eren complaining in the background about not wanting to see that but he doesn’t care. Soon enough he pulls back and takes a step towards the door, eyes wide and watching Jean carefully. 

“Maybe I should rile you up more often if you’re going to kiss me like that,” the Alpha says with a lovestruck grin and Armin really can’t be mad at him with that. He runs out the door and as soon as he gets outside, he is reminded why he had holed himself up in his apartment and made Jean go shopping for groceries. It was freezing outside and he wanted nothing to do with it. That, and he either had to figure out how to hail a cab or walk to the office. Neither one sounded that appealing but he would take the lesser of two evils in this case. A cab it was. 

Hanji meets him at the elevator with a cup of hot chocolate. He isn’t sure where they got it, but he doesn’t care because it is blistering cold outside and it’s steaming. The idea has been burning in his mind since it formed ten minutes ago and he is longing to start. He wants to show Hanji what he thought of and how it will work because it should work. Should being the key word here. Levi is just stepping out of his office when they rush by but he stops and smiles gently which Armin doesn’t have time to think about because he is too busy rushing by. 

“So, did you eat all that powder?” He asks and Hanji screeches, yelling at him for hanging out with Levi to much which causes the raven to snicker. Taking a glance over his shoulder he catches Levi’s eye and smirks which the other returns before returning to his office. The blonde is buzzing with the knowledge that this could break the entire case, but on the other end it could also come around to bite him in the ass. So, he doesn’t want to remain too optimistic but he can’t stop the thrumming in his heart. Hanji is still bubbling beside him so he takes that as a good sign to explain what his idea is. 

“I had this weird dream about sand last night,” Armin starts and brown eyes glance over at him for a moment but away just as fast. The blond continues without a worry as to what the look could mean because the other has talked about some weird things as well. “And I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so while I was supposed to be making coffee earlier, I started playing with the sugar,” he continued as they walked into the lab. Carefully setting his bag on the nearest desk, he started to undress and the Beta made grab hands for his drink, to which he obliged, while he finished his explanation. 

“So, I was thinking about how sand, or sugar, or really any granulated material would form in the crevices and spaces of objects right? So, thinking back to my studies, why wouldn’t that work for finding out the difference in pressure?” The question came with a big breath as wide blue eyes turned on Hanji who was staring open-mouthed at him. It was obviously a long shot, but they were running out of time and this was the last thing he could think of to save them time. “Different pressures leave different dips in the paper, so depending on the amount of whatever substance we pour on the paper stays in these marks, we would find the differences.” 

“ARMIN!” Hanji shouted and leaped forward to wrap him in a hug that he gratefully accepted after catching his balance. It was something that confirmed his suspicions. This could possibly work and if it did, then it could put off the trial date long enough for Jean and Eren to figure everything else out. The hug didn’t last long because soon enough Hanji couldn’t contain their own excitement and they pulled away with a wide gesture that nearly ended up throwing Armin’s hot chocolate all over the floor. The blond grabbed it before it could end up everywhere before levelling her with a curious look. 

“I also had an idea. Well, Moblit did, but I’m taking the credit because he doesn’t work here,” they continued on while rushing over to the far side of the room where there were papers and pictures and books spread on every available surface. Armin looked at it warily while following along, staying far enough behind that he was in no danger of being hit or becoming a victim of an avalanche. “Obviously the acetic acid had to have been mixed with something, right? Which means they had to walk through it after dumping it and walk across the building to get out. With all the information that we’ve got, we might have a sample that they tracked out of the building of whatever the missing chemical was and from there we can figure out who ordered it.” 

The Omega stared at his coworker for a long moment before completely understanding what they were talking about. If that was the case, then that was two things down and one to go. Considering all of the chemicals that Historia had been working with were all accounted for beforehand, then whatever it was that the acetic acid had been mixed with had been brought it from an outside source. From that angle, it was only a matter of time until they figured out who the real culprit was. But then what? The blonde smiled, casting aside that thought because who needed to think things like that when there was so much work to do? 

“That’s great! We had better get to work then!” He amended his silence and Hanji agreed with a cheery grin of their own, accepting his silence as mere thinking time. As Armin turned away, however, he couldn’t stop from wondering just what would happen when they figured out who had actually given the killers that other chemical. 

xXx

Eren continued to write away as he listened to Jean groan and hit his head against the table. They had been going at this for days and nothing had really changed, but Eren could feel that they were getting somewhere. They had to be. With a sigh and a groan of his own he sat back and stretched, his muscles protesting with the movements. The numbers were blurring together in his head, but there was a pattern to it all. He knew it, but there was something that he just wasn’t seeing. But what was it?

“Jean, did we figure out if our numbers matched up?” He asked with his eyes closed and there was a snort from across the table. All he managed to do was smile because he was honestly feeling the exact same way. This was starting to become ridiculous and every once in a while he got annoyed with himself for offering his help with this. But at the time, he hadn’t realized what a tedious job it was going to be. Then he would think about Levi and those thoughts would go away. That and the money was good. 

“Yes, beast man. Your copy and mine both match up,” the blonde agrees from his spot at the table and Eren chuckles before looking over at his friend. Briefly he thinks about how they sat like this not that long ago, studying for finals. Only this time, the final test they were getting ready for was a bit more permanent and wasn’t going to affect them. His eyes glanced down to what he had in front of him once again with a frown marring his face. There was something… 

“Jean!” He shouted, sitting up and scattering through the pages. The other Alpha sat up quickly, frowning but snapping to attention. It was obvious that he had no idea what was going on but was going to try and help. Eren appreciated the effort. “You remember all those news articles that we talked about in our discussion group last year?” He asked and Jean looked so confused that if Eren wasn’t so amped up over his discovery he would have laughed. 

“Yeah, what about them?” The blonde asked, leaning forward on his elbows to peer over at the papers that the brunet was busy scattering across the table and onto the floor in search of something that only he could find. It was obvious that he had thought of something but without actual words, there was no way that Eren could articulate what it was that he had figured out. 

“Over the past year, we have had gone through and had done over major stock market drops that have happened, right? Well, looking at S.R.M.’s records, they have been following the same charts, only right before the numbers change,” he explains with a triumphant grin while pulling out some doodle he had done earlier on in his studies of the case. It had been something that he had dismissed at the time, but now was at the forefront of his mind. It made complete sense now. Jean seemed to be slowly processing the information while looking at the picture. 

“So, what you’re saying is that they have been working with each of these companies to get ahead in the game?” He concludes and Eren nods excitedly. There is another long pause before Jean’s eyes widen and he slams his hands down on the table. The two Alphas stare at each other for a long moment before shouting at the same time. “Eren! Do your understand what this means? We just uncovered a huge scandal!” Jean yells and Eren agrees, looking back down to the chart in his hand before looking up at the blond. 

“Yeah, but what else? There is something else going on here,” he says and Jean nods, but then starts to shuffle through the papers himself. Eren watches him for a long moment before shaking his head. There are so many things that they need to do. First things first, they need to report this. There was no way in hell he was going to keep a scandal under wraps. Then he needed to call Pixis because he had a feeling he was going to need a lawyer present because there were going to be feds involved. 

“They were paying someone for – something? I don’t know what, but I have a feeling if we were to trace the account it would have a fake name on it,” the blonde suddenly says and Eren snaps out of his thoughts. Jean is holding out some files so he takes them with a shaking hand that he blames on the adrenaline and not the sudden sinking feeling in his stomach. They were both right; S.R.M. International was getting fed inside information to make more money on the stock market while paying someone else for who-knows-what. 

“You need to call that boss guy, Eren,” Jean says and Eren looks up at him for a long moment before nodding slowly. There was no way they were getting out of this now. He finds his phone and briefly considers calling Levi first but knows that will only put off the inevitable so he shakes his head and scrolls down to Pixis’s number. Speaking to the older man always made him tired because of his – eccentric attitude and outlook on everything. He was hoping that this was going to go a lot better. 

_“Eren! How are you doing, my boy?”_ Pixis’s greeting is loud, hearty, and the brunet feels sweat forming on his palms. That sinking feeling is back full force because he has an idea as to who is behind this entire thing, but he is praying that he is wrong. There are so many ways that this could go and he is hoping that he is wrong for the sake of his friends, his family. 

“I’m, well –to be honest, I’m not doing so well,” he starts and he can hear the man say something to whoever he is with before the background noise quiets down. That only serves to make him more nervous and he stands. Jean is still sitting at the table but he looks away and Eren is grateful. 

_“What’s going on? Is everything alright?”_ He asks and Eren knows that he means well but he honestly is so nervous right now. This isn’t even the worst part. 

“Jean and I just figured out the money aspect of this entire case,” he rushes out and Pixis is quiet enough that the young Alpha actually wonders if the line has disconnected. Even goes as far as to check the screen. But then there is some shuffling in the background and the brunet can only assume that Pixis is putting a jacket on with the amount of noise. 

_“Alright. I want you to meet me at my private office. You remember where that is, right, Eren?”_ He asks and Eren nods for a moment before remembering that the man can’t see him. He agrees before quickly hanging up and turning to Jean who is looking up at him with an unsure expression that mimics what Eren’s feeling perfectly. The blond nods and stands, stretching awkwardly for a moment before shaking his head. 

“Looks like I’ll be breaking out those dress pants, then?” He asks and Eren huffs a laugh before agreeing. 

xXx

Pixis’s private office is in his home and it is Eren’s favorite location when he isn’t feeling like he is going to throw up any moment. The house is large and the entire thing reminds him of an old English home with the fancy tea room and everything. He’s sure that Levi loves being here. But as he and Jean drive up to the front and park, he can’t stop running his hands along his pants to the point that the blond smacks him for making both of their nerves worse. They are escorted inside by a young maid with bright eyes that makes Eren feel awkward but she seems excited to meet them and chatters away while leading them through the house. 

Then Eren is hit by it; Dot Pixis’s scent. Eren remembers that his dad was powerful but he had nothing on Pixis. Jean seemed just as affected because he stopped, flexed his jaw and cast his eyes to the ground for a long moment before following along. They reached the study where Pixis sat at his desk with a glass in his hand while staring out the window. At the sound of their approach he turned with a kind smile and rose from his seat. 

“Eren! Jean! It’s a pleasure to see the two of you,” he greeted while shaking both of their hands. Both boys winced at the strong grip but returned the sentiment nonetheless. They both pulled their jackets off and slung them over the backs of their chairs before finally sitting down and once they looked up, Pixis was staring at them intently. Jean shivered while Eren just straightened his posture and cleared his throat, drawing the man’s attention.

“We believe that we have figured out the money situation behind S.R.M. International,” he explained quickly and Pixis nodded shortly, holding a hand out. Eren reached across to give him the papers they brought with them and he waited for a moment before continuing the explanation. “From what we know from our studies as well as our research, we have come to conclude that S.R.M. has been working with multiple other companies to get ahead in the stock market,” he explained. Pixis was obviously surprised and looked up at Eren, glancing over at Jean when the blonde spoke up. 

“Five other companies, to be exact. We think that there is someone in each company that is feeding whoever is in charge of making the financial decisions at S.R.M. inside information so that they can buy or sell their trades within the stock market just in time so that they aren’t affected by the falls within each company,” he continued and Eren nodded along. It had been a long road to figuring out what they were doing and once they did that, well then they were able to find out that the company was missing money because it was all hiding within the stocks. 

“What about the missing money that seems to have everyone overly concerned?” Pixis asked and Eren shared a glance with his friend before sighing deeply. This was the one thing that he really didn’t want to talk about because he had a feeling he knew exactly what was going on with this money. 

“Once we figured out what was happening with the stocks,” Jean said suddenly, shocking Eren into silence, “we were able to find that the company was, in fact, missing money despite the fact that we thought otherwise. Instead of it going missing from the bank accounts like we assumed, it was going into stocks that were then being cashed out and sent to another account,” he continued and Pixis nodded once again while shuffling through the pages. There was a long moment of silence while the man seemed to absorb the information he was given before looking up at the boys once again. 

“I take it that there was no name on the account?” He asked and Eren shrugged his shoulders helplessly. His palms were still sweating where he had them resting against his legs and he could feel it run down the back of his neck. He really wished that Annie would call him back. “Well, boys, I think that we should call Erwin –“ 

“No!” Eren shouted while jumping up. Both Pixis and Jean turned to him with wide eyes, shocked by his sudden outburst. Burning eyes glanced over at the clock on the wall and he bit at the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. He was acting ridiculous and he knew it, but he needed to be completely sure before they came forth with everything. “Can we wait until tomorrow? It is almost eleven at night and I doubt that Levi will want to be called in right now. Besides, Petra is sleeping on our couch right now,” he rambled, eyes turning on Pixis in time to see the man’s eyes narrow at that comment. Had he not known that she and Erwin were on rocky ground? 

“Is that so? I suppose that makes sense,” he conceded, though there was still a question in that and his eyes turned on Jean for a long moment before the blond caught on. He jumped up and excused himself to the bathroom which left a jumpy brunet and a very curious old man alone. “Do you want to explain to me what is going on, Eren?” He asked and Eren looked at him for a long moment before sighing heavily and slumping back down into his chair, suit be damned. 

“Erwin ran off yesterday, but Levi said that he told you that. Well, he went over there last night to talk to him and, I know he is your nephew and I’m sorry, but,” he ranted, shaking his head and hands knotting in his hair tightly. “That _bastard_ tried to intimidate Levi with his scent and then snarled at him. I understand that they have been friends for years, but you don’t do things like that to your friends,” he continued, oblivious to Pixis’s anger. “I don’t know if anything happened with Petra beforehand but Levi didn’t feel safe, which says a lot, so he had Petra come and stay with us last night and he isn’t letting her go home,” he finished in a rush, finally looking up at the man. 

“Is that so?” Pixis said mildly, though the iron grip that he had on his glass said otherwise and Eren was suddenly aware of the sharp scent of an angry Alpha. His own alpha was rearing it’s head but he calmly held himself back respectfully until the older man had himself under control once more. There was another bout of silence that Eren didn’t dare break, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. “I suppose we can wait until tomorrow then. I’ll call you,” Pixis said and Eren nodded, shooting out of his chair, much to the older alpha’s amusement. He gathered his and Jean’s things before running out of the room and into the entrance where the blond was waiting and when he got there his friend shot him a look. 

“What’d you do to piss him off?” He asked but Eren just shook his head. 

“You don’t want to know.” 

xXx

“Annie, I wasn’t expecting you to call so soon,” Eren huffed as he walked down the street. He and Jean had just gotten back from visiting Pixis when Annie had sent him a message asking if he was busy. So, he had turned down a warm ride in favor of talking on the phone. Sometimes he wondered if he was missing more brain cells than he was really guilty for. 

_“Yeah, well I figured you needed this information as soon as possible,”_ the other murmured on the other end of the line. Her voice was smooth but there was an edge to it that had Eren worried. What was it that had her worked up? _“Eren, this is a big deal. We are talking about murder,”_ she continued before he could say anything and the words chilled him more than the weather ever could. It was something he was aware of but still wasn’t used to hearing. 

“Yeah, I know, but I still need to do this,” he insisted to which she sighed at. The edge to her voice only seemed to increase, the tone tightening. There was a knot in his stomach and he pulled his scarf up higher on his face to hide his grimace. Having Annie act like this was only making his sinking feeling worse. 

_“Well, everything is basically as you said. Though, I did find a connection between those two others that you mentioned,”_ she added and there was some papers rustling in the background to which he smiled. Of course she took notes on everything. _“They met during some out of country schooling thing? I couldn’t find the program name, but if you need it I could ask around some more,”_ she continued and Eren shook his head against the wind.

“No, that’s not important. How did he get involved with this entire thing?” He asked and there was a hum and some thumping which he assumed was the blonde dropping things to the floor. He was proven correct when she swore, but it was ignored in favor of speaking with him on the phone. It was heartwarming. 

_“I’m guessing it was to get back at his true mate or something. I’m not sure though, so then he probably called his buddies and, boom. Plan in action,”_ she mumbled and Eren stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. True mate? What was she talking about? There was no true mate in this situation so what exactly was she getting at? 

“What true mate are you talking about?” He asked and Annie was quiet on the other end for a long minute before she huffed. 

_“Did you not know? Historia is his true mate and she denied him.”_

xXx

Levi had been waiting for over an hour for his mate to get home and he was getting annoyed. Petra had decided to stay with Hanji for the night so that he and Eren could have the apartment to themselves, but the brunet was nowhere to be found. It was supposed to be a quiet night, with a movie and maybe a bath, but Eren had to go and be late. Of course it was just his luck, but could Levi even be mad? His Alpha had been working so hard lately and the weariness was starting to show. He had even been withdrawing from Levi which hurt beyond belief. But, according to Armin that was something Eren did when he started overworking himself because he tended to get snappish and didn’t want to take it out on someone. 

The thought was sweet but Levi wondered if he would rather have that then Eren keeping away from him completely. Sure, they slept in the same bed and Eren had been making an attempt at appeasing him, but there was something distant in his eyes that Levi couldn’t reach. It was something dark that bordered on dangerous, something that made Levi worry. He wasn’t sure if he should try and say something to his mate about it or if he should just leave it as it was. There was no point in starting a fight over something that he was imagining. But if he wasn’t? 

The door opened and he looked up and over the back of the couch to see Eren coming in the back door with a grimace on his face. The raven frowned, whimpering softly at the sight. The Alpha turned to him immediately and sighed brokenly before kneeling on the floor and letting out a pathetic breath. Levi moved to him quietly, hands curling in the dark strands before working Eren’s coat off of him. Next went his hat, scarf, and gloves and finally his shoes. Then came the struggle of making the Alpha move. 

“Come on,” he whispered as he tugged on the brunet’s arms but Eren wouldn’t budge and for a long moment, Levi didn’t know what was wrong until he noticed that the boy’s shoulders were shaking which only meant one thing. The scent hit him next; the smell of a fire being put out by fresh rain. It made tears come to his own eyes as he knelt down in front of his mate, thumbing at the tears that had gathered in those fiery eyes that he loved so much. 

“Eren,” he muttered and the Alpha looked up at him for a moment before a broken sob ripped from his chest. The sound tore Levi’s heart in two and he pushed himself forward, wrapping the other in his arms and cooing to him with any words that he could think of that could possibly soothe the other. This was not something that Armin had mentioned happening when Eren was overworked. The tears didn’t stop and Eren clutched desperately at him, arms wrapped around his middle, around his shoulders, pulling him until they were flush against one another. 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep with the emotional rollercoaster of the past few weeks. Levi knew that having Erwin breathing down his neck couldn’t be easy, plus the deadline, then there was his school work that he had been preparing, and them becoming mates that he probably hadn’t properly dealt with yet. Was there a way to properly deal with the idea of a mate? He had come to terms with it easily, but again, he had met Eren years ago and had already known those feelings. What had Eren gone through then versus now? 

Looking down at the brunet now, he wondered just what was going on in that brain of his, wondered if he should ask. Then he thought of the darkness that had been in Eren’s eyes the past few days. Maybe it was that. Was it a self-doubt or a doubt of their relationship? If that was the case then Levi could help. If it was something else, something that Eren wasn’t willing to speak about, then there was no way that Levi would even know how to help because… 

“I’m so sorry, Levi. I’m so sorry,” Eren whispered against his chest and Levi stared down at him in confusion before leaning down to draw him into a kiss. He considered all the reasons that Eren could be apologizing for as their lips moved together in a slow dance that showed more love then he knew how to put into words. Cheating? There was no way because he would scent that on Eren as soon as he walked in the door. Lying? Possible but Eren was too much of a puppy to be able to lie about something without telling him. 

Maybe he was apologizing for not being around so much. Levi had already told him that he understood and they had agreed to three days. Sure, they were hell but it was mostly because he had to watch his mate self-destruct in the meantime. What else was there for Eren to apologize for? 

Little did he know the secret that Eren was keeping from him. 


	8. Bloodlust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's poor attempts at procrastination, Eren gets beat up..
> 
> Basically this entire chapter is shit for Eren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably all hate me and I am so fucking sorry! 
> 
> Life has been extreme for me lately and on top of that I've had some serious writers block on this chapter which really doesn't excuse anything, but I am so sorry! I hope that this makes up for it! Probably not because its all really shitty angst, so meh. This is somewhat edited, but I wanted to post it before I decided to just erase it all and start over, so there might be some issues! I hope this also answers a lot of the questions from earlier chapters as well! Let me know! 
> 
> SORRY AGAIN!

Waking up the next morning was both a blessing and a curse for Eren. The warm body draped over his own was thrumming with vitality and passion. The contentedness he felt was a double edged sword that embedded itself deeper into his chest with every breath he took. It was a reminder that there was more to life than just wandering around monotonously, waiting for death to take you to the only home you think you know. 

It reminded him that he had something, _someone,_ to lose.

There was no way that he could have Levi taken from him again. It had happened once all those years ago but he could still remember what it was like to have the man standing next to him. It was a nervous energy that had spread through his body as he watched Levi become the dark knight to his damsel in distress. To his young nose that had yet to even scent the wonders of his mother’s warm scent, he had been blanketed in the Omega’s essence. It was addicting and it haunted his dreams for years, aiding in his loneliness and heartache. The same with his touch and the scorching warmth that it brought despite how fleeting it was. 

As if summoned by Eren’s thoughts, cool hand started to slide up from his waist where the sheets had pooled to his chest where they paused. Peeling his eyes open, he glanced down to see Levi already staring up at him with a contemplative look in his gunmetal eyes. That was always a dangerous thing when it came to the raven. If he were given the proper amount of time to think things over, then he could probably solve the answers of the universe. It was a terrifying thing that Eren didn’t like to think about when he had such heavy things hanging over his head. 

“Where are you?” The voice pulled him from his thoughts of Levi standing on the top of the world to see the Omega still peering up at him from his perch on Eren’s chest. It took a moment for the question to even register in his head but when it did he felt himself frown slightly. It wasn’t his intention to drift away like that first thing in the morning, without even opening his eyes at first. To have Levi noticing it as well just made it worse. There must have been something on his face that made him look like he felt guilty because Levi nipped at the skin of his chest. It wasn’t enough to draw blood but just enough to draw his attention once again. 

“You keep drifting away,” the Omega murmured against the skin, eyes closed and lips brushing against the red spot. A shiver ran through the Alpha’s body quickly and his arms that were wrapped around his mate tightened briefly before returning back to their loose embrace. That seemed to displease the raven because he grumbled something under his breath before climbing on top of Eren and settling himself on the Alpha’s chest comfortably. “Alpha,” he murmured, lips just brushing the brunette’s chin as he spoke and Eren felt a small smile pulling at his lips that he just couldn’t seem to help. 

It was something that Levi was always good at despite the raven’s best attempts at saying otherwise. Petra agreed with him as well and he was sure that Hanji would jump on the bandwagon to agree. Levi always managed to cheer people up whether he realized that he was doing it or not. Sometimes it was through scathing words and icy glares, other times it was gentle embraces and rare smiles. Everything was so intermixed that you never knew what you were going to receive, but you were thankful anyways because it helped make you feel better and he never seemed to realize it. Eren had made it a silent mission to make Levi realize just how amazing he really is. 

“Mate,” he whispered, wincing at how unused his voice sounded especially after crying the night before. It was embarrassing. Levi didn’t seem to share his opinion but before he could say anything both of their phones started to ring, Levi’s from the kitchen and Eren’s from the floor. The two stared at one another for a long moment before the raven groaned and rolled off the bed and padded out of the room to answer his phone. Eren listened to his phone ring for a moment longer while contemplating on letting it go to voicemail but his mind was bombarded with the heavy subject of the day’s events and he got out of bed to search for his phone. After finding it, he felt his pulse spike when he saw the name on the screen. 

“Annie,” he greeted softly and cast a glance over his shoulder towards the door, straining his ears to hear Levi still talking in the kitchen. The Alpha’s hands were suddenly shaking on the receiver and he frowned, tightening his grip to ignore the sign of anxiety. “You’re calling early. Something wrong?” It was hard for him to keep his voice casual, much less even. Had Levi been out or had he been back at his own apartment, he wouldn’t bother hiding the nerves he felt. 

_“I figured that I could tell you over the phone because you probably wouldn’t show up if I called you out,”_ she answered easily, tone betraying nothing and everything all at once. Eren knew that she was just as nervous about this as he was but for different reasons. She could anger Eren and potentially Armin since neither of them had told him what they had been up to. Eren on the other hand had a lot more on the line and he had a feeling that they both were starting to realize the severity of this situation. 

“You’re probably right,” the agreement didn’t surprise him or his sister and he shook off the feeling of just how right she was. “I was trying to stay in bed but Levi’s phone rang at the same time, so…” his voice trailed off as he walked around the room, grabbing clothes as he went. It was an absentminded action that didn’t take a lot of thought and so he continued into the bathroom with a frown. 

_“He was being responsible? One of you needs to be,”_ Annie replies stonily and he sneers for a moment before shutting the door behind himself. Levi’s voice could still be heard from the kitchen and he let that soothe his nerves. The bathroom tile was cold against his bare feet and the feeling grounded him but when Annie spoke again he felt like he was falling from a cliff. _“He has moved money from his offshore account into a personal one and there are two plane tickets that have been purchased. They are for Dubai, Eren,”_ she continued and he fought for breath. Dubai wouldn’t extradite any criminal that went there. 

Maybe this morning, before he had officially woken up and opened his eyes, he could have procrastinated a day or two and enjoyed his time with Levi while pretending to be blissfully unaware of the danger that lurked just outside of the door. But with this new information striking him in the gut there was no more time to waste. There were so many things to do now and his mind was spinning with the list. He needed to make phone calls; Pixis would be the first because he needed the man on his side, then would be the proper authorities because there was only so much that a university student could do on his own. And then? 

“Eren?” The knock startled him and he turned to stare wide-eyed at the closed bathroom door. Annie was speaking to him but his focus was on his mate on the other side of the barrier. That simple door between them seemed like so much more in Eren’s mind and it hurt him to think about but he tried to push that from his mind as he swallowed, took a deep breath, and reminded himself that he was doing this to keep Levi safe. 

“Be out in a minute, babe,” he called back and waited with baited breath to hear if the raven took the bait or not. After a long moment he seemed to accept it and walked away but Eren could tell by the tinge in his scent that he wasn’t happy about the fact that the Alpha was hiding things from him. Annie had quieted down which he greatly appreciated and he took a moment to himself before deciding that he finally needed some help on this. “I need some phone calls made and I can’t do them all on my own,” he confessed and waited, biting at his lips while waiting for his sister’s answer. There was a soft exhale from the other end before a soft laugh filled his ear. 

_“I’ve already called in the troops. Sorry, Eren,”_ the other Alpha admitted and for a brief moment he panicked but then realized that this was exactly what he needed. He needed his own force to help go up against this foe. This wasn’t something that he could do on his own anymore. _“I called Armin last night after we spoke because it didn’t seem right not having him in on this. Horseface got pulled into it by proxy,”_ she continued and the relief he felt was palpable. He wouldn’t have to do this on his own. He wasn’t alone on this. _“I’ve also flown into town to help out, though with my limited resources around here I don’t know- “_

“You’re in town?!” Eren yelled, back straight and eyes staring at nothing. It had been a few years since he had last seen his adoptive sister. She had missed his and Armin’s graduation because of a military assignment out of the country and he had already moved when she had returned home. This would be his first time seeing her and he couldn’t think of doing anything but hiding Levi away from the world. As if sensing his thoughts, she snorted. 

_“I’ll see you later, squirt,”_ and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, the line was dead and he was left shaking with pent up adrenaline that he didn’t know what to do with. There wasn’t ever an issue with having Annie meet his previous girlfriends or boyfriends, and it wasn’t an issue of trust, but with Levi it was different. With Levi everything was different. The bathroom door opened behind him and gunmetal eyes looked up at him from around the barrier for a long moment before the raven apparently deemed it safe to speak. 

“You alright? I’ve never known you to shout while in the bathroom,” he murmured and Eren scowled at the poorly disguised shit joke. Levi took that as a good sign because he smirked but remained just inside the door while his eyes scanned over the Alpha’s face constantly. The brunette finally growled, annoyed with the scrutiny and with feeling like someone was going to come and steal his mate away. His arms wrapped around Levi’s waist before hoisting him up and over his shoulder while ignoring all protests that were hurled at him. Once in the bedroom again he tossed Levi on the bed and before the Omega could say anything he was on the bed and in his face with a fierce kiss. 

Their lips separated with a gasp and Eren instantly moved down to press his nose against his mate’s neck to try and settle himself down. Levi ran his hands through the brunette’s unruly locks distractedly, as if that kiss had completely ruined all rational thinking. Which, as Eren glanced up at the other, it seemed like it had. They were quiet for a few minutes, with the Alpha listening to the raven’s heart beat while his hands kneaded the blankets at their sides. He was losing control of himself which is something that he swore never to do and yet… 

“Eren,” Levi’s voice was pulling him back once again and he made a pathetic noise in the back of his throat. Levi didn’t say anything but he also didn’t stop the soothing movements of his hands which the brunette greatly appreciated. He still wasn’t sure that he could put what he was feeling into words, but it would be hard to make Levi understand his odd behavior. He felt like nesting, like hording blankets and pillows and piling them up around his mate until Levi was surrounded by them. He wanted to cook food for the raven and care for him and never have him lift another finger. It was starting to feel like an obsession. 

“I want to be selfish and ask you to never leave,” his voice sounded raw when he finally spoke and the Omega’s hands paused for a brief moment before continuing. It was something that wasn’t completely unheard of, an Alpha wanting to keep their Omega locked up, but that wasn’t what Eren was doing or feeling and he figured that Levi understood. “I want to be the only one to see you,” he whispered, voice cracking as he pressed his face more firmly against the raven’s neck. Those feelings were starting to consume him and he knew why. Apparently his Omega did too. 

“I didn’t realize that Erwin had challenged your Alpha this much,” the admission coming from someone other than himself stung his pride more than he would have thought, especially when it was coming from his mate, but he knew it was true. It was also a common thing for two Alphas stuck in a power struggle to have an ongoing challenge that eventually throws one into what was most commonly known as ‘Bloodlust’. It was a madness, a savage and primal rage that all Alphas battled on a day to day basis but when issued a challenge like that, they were more susceptible to falling in. 

“I’m sorry, Levi,” he whispered and the raven clicked his tongue before tugging on his mate’s hair to get him to look up. When their eyes met, their lips followed and the kiss took Eren’s breath away. It was hard to not get swept away when around Levi, but his kisses were almost impossible to ignore. When the raven pulled back Eren made a noise of protest but was silenced with a soft chuckle and a quick nip to his cheek. 

“You couldn’t help it, Eren. It was his fault, so don’t blame yourself,” the words soothed him for the moment but the next ones set him on edge all over again and he hated things just a little bit more with every word that passed through Levi’s lips. “From what I understand, you have some things to wrap up, as do I, so we will both go and do what needs to be done. Then tonight we will come home, turn our phones off, and not leave this bed for the next week, alright?” The raven bargained and though Eren was nodding, he sure as hell hoped that his Omega’s painted ideal of their night would pan out. 

xXx

Distantly, Eren knew that he had a lot to do, but yet again he tried not to think about it. As soon as Levi walked out the door to head to the office, however, those things were forced straight to the forefront of his mind. The first thing he did was call Jean and Armin. He had been scolded heavily, but it quickly changed to strategizing and then the phone call ended with an action plan. Jean and Armin would head to Trost Corps and inform Pixis about what was going on with Annie at their side, though that had taken some convincing. Eren needed to put in a phone call to the agents that he had already been speaking with about the issue. 

Walking into Trost Corps with a small herd ( _four,_ literally _only_ four) of federal agents following behind him. The meeting with them had gone fairly well. Explaining to them how Erwin had helped Nik and Nile Dok concoct a plan to get Historia out of running for CEO of S.R.M. International. Eren wasn’t sure on the complete details, but from his own investigation he figured that when Erwin got the call from the Dok brothers, who knew about Historia’s and Erwin’s past as denied mates, that the blonde Alpha decided to use the opportunity to get back at the young Omega. 

Eren also guessed that Erwin decided to call on his foreign friends to come over and help him out with this suddenly evil plan for revenge. Little did everyone know that the money they were being paid with was coming from a huge stock market scandal that the Dok brothers were pulling with the help of at least five other companies. It was such an absurd story, something from the news that one would think would never happen to them. It happened to Eren and now he was wishing that things had turned out differently. 

As the elevator opened, he was hit with the sudden shock of an angry Omega’s scent. It’s hard for him to distinguish the owner of the scent for multiple reasons; first, his senses were heightened to a level that was way above normal because he was functioning so close to Bloodlust, second, everyone in the office had heightened emotions which meant their scents were out of control and harder to distinguish, and third, there is a hand slapping him across the face. It had taken him and his entourage by surprise, only noticing after the pain has registers in his brain. His eyes blink open and he looks down into Petra’s heartbroken honey eyes that are staring up at him with so much betrayal that his knees go weak. 

“Eren,” her voice is the final blow and the noise that breaks free from his throat is mangled and hard to understand but she seems to understand as if what he had wanted to say all along was put on a billboard and hung around his neck. This wasn’t what he wanted but he needed to protect her, protect Levi. They were part of his family now and there was nothing that he wouldn’t do to keep his family safe. A distant part of his mind notes that the agents are moving into the office in search of Erwin, but Eren’s gaze hasn’t moved from Petra because right after loving Levi, is Petra. She is the mother that he lost all those years ago. 

“Petra,” he starts and takes a hesitant step forward. When she just nods at him he rushes to her and wraps her in a hug that is probably too tight, but not tight enough. The small blonde held onto him just as tightly, hands fisted into the back of his shirt and face pressed into his shoulder. Petra’s usual floral scent was now downtrodden, damp. It reminded him of walking through the woods after a warm rainfall when the humidity has yet to release. There was no relief with the rain that had been released and it reminded you that there was still a storm on the horizon. That was the small Omega in his arms smelled like and it broke his heart over and over again. “I’m so sorry, Petra. I didn’t want this, I didn’t. You have to know that,” he pleaded against her hair desperately. 

She was now rubbing his back in a comforting manner while making soothing noises in the back of her throat in a way that reminded him so much of his mother that it brought tears to his own eyes. “I know, Eren. I know and I am so sorry that this got put on you,” she apologized but he just shook his head. There was no way that he would accept any sort of apology for something that he needed to take care of to keep his family safe. This was something that he needed to do. “Levi told me about the Bloodlust,” she added after a moment and Eren felt his muscles lock up. It was something that he didn’t need to be embarrassed about, but he was and it was killing him. 

“I should have done something about him sooner, Eren, and don’t you dare say otherwise. No matter what he has done up until now, he is my husband,” the admission is soft but Eren hears it. Her voice is firm, resolute, without the least bit of self-pity and he should have expected that of her. He really should have but for some reason he thought that maybe she would have been looking back on their time together and thinking ‘where did I go wrong?’. Petra finally pulls away from him and he wants to stop her, wants to continue hiding away from the world in her comforting presence, but the look in her eyes stops him.

Honey eyes are staring up at him expectantly and Eren knows, he really does, but he is so scared to turn and continue down the hallway. There are more voices coming from down there, raised ones, and Petra knows this, but she also knows that he needs to be down there. After all, Eren was the one to catch Erwin in the act. His feet feel heavy as he turns away from her, eyes on the floor. His head is still thrumming from the Bloodlust and onslaught of scents, not to mention the healthy sting of his cheek. There is an unhealthy dose of adrenaline running through his veins right now and the only thing he can think of is getting Levi out of there. 

As his eyes raise from the floor, they find Hanji standing in the hall looking bleak and hollow. It was something he knew all too well. The Beta wasn’t looking in his direction at the moment but he slowed his steps anyways, pulling himself together as best he could to try and seem as if he were in control of himself. They finally looked up and their mouth opened and closed a few times before some tears slipped down their cheeks. Feet stopping, Eren watched with a horrible fascination as Hanji Zoe, the loudest and most outgoing person he knew, walked up to him and simply rested their forehead against his own for a brief moment. Neither said a word in the empty hallway, the only noise coming from the uproar in the conference room, but when Hanji pulled away their eyes spoke more volume than what that room ever could. 

_I’ve been betrayed._

_How could he do this?_

_Why?_

Tears fought their way to the surface and his throat burned as the Beta walked past him, hands brushing as the last contact before they were gone and Eren was left alone before the daunting door. If he tried hard enough, he could hear Jean’s lilting tenor, Mikasa’s threatening alto, and Erwin’s rumbling bass. There were other voices mixed in, of course, but those were the three he picked up on the most and for a moment he was glad then with a cold realization that there was no reason to be glad for that. If Levi was quiet, then the Omega was a lot more upset than he let on. Whether he was going to yell and start throwing punches or storm off to cry by himself Eren didn’t know but his heart ached to find out either way. 

That feeling was what made him push the door open. Inside of the conference room was complete and utter chaos. Not in the literal sense because everyone was calmly sitting around the table, but their scents were flaring wildly to the point that it made him stumble. No one noticed him open the door, for which he was grateful, but the longer he tried to get his bearings the worse he got. Leaving would be the best option but there was no way he could get out of the building now. His knees were weak and his hands shaky but his muscles were tensing and releasing as if readying for a fight. There was a long moment where Eren thought he would pass out but as soon as the blackness faded from his vision he looked up to see Erwin staring straight at him. 

“Eren, how nice of you to join us. We were all just having a fine chat about you,” the blonde greeted, standing from his chair with a harsh light in his eyes. There was a tone in his voice that made Eren stand up straight despite the pounding in his head and weakness in his joints. His body was thrumming and Alpha was suddenly perked up and foaming at the mouth for a fight. There was a shift in the room, as if everyone was suddenly coming to the same conclusion all at once. Eren was in full-blown Bloodlust and Erwin was the reason. Erwin, the reason, was now attacking the Bloodlusting Alpha Eren. Blood was about to be shed. 

Everyone started moving at once, voices shouting and calling out to one another, but to Eren they were all moving in slow motion. His eyes were glued to his enemy, his foe, the danger to his family that was now shoving through the agents that were trying to block him. Just as Erwin was within striking distance, a hand curled around his arm and a heat shot through his body. He was no longer thinking about the enemy in front of him, but about the warm body behind him. He needed to protect this person, curl around them, keep them safe. Eren’s body automatically turned, arms caging the person against the wall with their bodies pressed tightly together so that when Erwin’s first round of blows came down he took them all and the one he was protecting didn’t feel a thing. 

The pain felt like a distant thing compared to the warm hands that were still tugging at him, pushing and shoving as if trying to move him away. Why didn’t this person understand that if he moved they would get hurt? There was suddenly a sharp pain from somewhere near he guessed his head to be, but every fiber of his being was solely focused on this one person that it was hard to remember what was what. The person was saying something, he knew, but he couldn’t understand what it was, could only feel the warmth of their hands and their breath as it fanned across his cheeks. Just as sudden as the blows started, they stopped and he breathed in a sigh of relief. 

This person was safe now, wasn’t in danger any longer. His eyes closed and it took a moment before he could open them again, when he realized that he was tired. When did he get to be so tired? 

Watching Eren fall to the ground in a boneless heap with blood streaming down the side of his face is something that Levi swears he will never forget. Sure, he was scared enough while watching the Bloodlust completely take over him, then watching Erwin move to attack him, and then seeing his mate just stand there and take the blows just to protect him? Bloodlust affected each Alpha differently and it obviously turned Eren into a mindless being that is completely focused on protecting mate and keeping mate safe. But to just stand there? Then, afterwards, crumpling to the ground…

Levi startles when a hand touches his shoulder and he looks up at Armin who offers him a kind smile before handing over a cup of steaming liquid. He didn’t care what it was right now, just anything to try and keep away the cold. The blond took the uncomfortable chair beside him without a word and stares out over the empty hospital waiting room. They had been waiting for over four hours to see Eren, but the doctors were refusing not because of his concussion and head wound, but because of the Bloodlust. They couldn’t let anyone in unless he was under control. They spoke as if he were some kind of animal. 

“He and I spent a lot of time here when we were kids,” Armin suddenly says, leaning back in his chair and looking down into his cup. Levi glanced over without saying anything before looking down into his own cup. Eren didn’t talk about his childhood much, but then again they had only been together for a handful of months and they had both made it clear that they had grown up in rocky conditions. He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t interested. Thankfully Armin continued to speak without needing to be prompted. “His father was a doctor, but he ran off when we were six or so. Then his mom got really sick and was in and out of the hospital a lot,” the blonde murmured wistfully, gaze distant as if seeing something entirely different in his cup. 

“Eren doesn’t speak of her,” Levi says, though it seems unnecessary with the smile that Armin gives him. The blonde probably expected that, having known the Alpha for years, but it was still something that Levi wanted to point out. That even though this beast of an Alpha can go full out Bloodlust and single-mindedly protect him, Eren won’t talk about his mother. Armin seems to understand though and nudges their shoulders together a bit before continuing. 

“They moved away when Grisha left, so the time I spent with Eren in a hospital was visiting his father. You’d have to ask Jean more about his mother from those years. I can tell you what I remember about her, though,” he nods his head in his mate’s direction, the two Omegas watching Jean pace while grumbling into the phone with someone. Levi stifled a laugh with his hand and Armin joined in, ignoring the Alpha’s confused grumbles their way. Once the two of them settled down the blonde decided to continue his tales. 

He told Levi about his and Eren’s childhood, about how they would play hide-and-seek in the laundry while it was out to dry and Carla would come and find them with a warm smile on her face the entire time. He spoke of how when he and Eren would get into trouble (read: Eren) she would patch up their wounds and kiss their bruises. There were times that the blonde would have to stop in his stories because he was too caught up in them himself to even speak about them. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once. Armin paused when Jean walked over and told them that he had to run back to the apartment for some of Eren’s information for hospital paperwork. The moment the Alpha was gone, he turned serious and turned to Levi with shining eyes that made the raven’s gut turn with nerves. 

“You know how Eren seems a bit different from other Alphas? Like he has some kind of seventh sense?” He asked and without thinking about it, Levi was nodding. It wasn’t the first time he’d had a conversation about Eren’s strength as an Alpha. The classes weren’t easy things to understand as it was, but then you throw in extraordinary genes? Talk about a total mind fuck. “Carla was an overly adaptable Omega, though I’m sure you noticed that something was different when you first met her,” he added and Levi was suddenly brought back to that time in the café. 

Levi could remember the feeling of Eren in his arms and what it was like to hand him back over to this strange woman that his Omega recognized as his mother. That should have been the first indication that something was strange. Scents didn’t work that way until a child presented. Then they would smell familiar to their parents in some way while having their own distinct scent. The next thing he remembers is how dominant she felt even though they were both Omegas. It had been a curious thing, but he chalked it up to having weird emotions that day then later blaming it on his proximity to Eren at such a premature age. 

“What about it, Armin?” He asks, voice wary because he feels almost like he shouldn’t be having this conversation. There is an invasion of privacy here, he is sure, but at the same time he is burning to know more about his Alpha, this mysterious person that can control himself better than even Pixis could now that Levi was thinking back on the incident at the office. The old man had sat with is back ramrod straight while Petra screamed and cried, demanding to know why Erwin did what he did. The stench of an Omega in such a distressed state should have called for the man to do something, but where Eren would have talked her down, smiled at her, Pixis ignored her very existence. They were both beasts but of different breeds. 

“Carla was a pureblood Omega and Grisha was a pureblood Alpha, which gives Eren richer blood than most, which gives him more power than most,” the blonde divulged and turn to watch Levi process the information. Purebloods were rare on a good day but to find two purebloods from different classes to boot? Things like that didn’t happen every day, especially in common society. In the higher society like CEOs, politicians, and other official members of the government they were prominent. A blub went off in Levi’s head and he turned to Armin so fast his neck cracked. The blonde looked equal amounts concerned and amused by his revelation. 

“Historia is a pureblood,” he whispered and the other Omega nodded slightly while the information sink in. Purebloods in modern day society were rare which meant that people gave them passes on things, handouts if you will, so that they would continue their lines. Most turned into snobs, but others like Historia and Eren didn’t let it change them or their work ethic. Being mated to a pureblood also had its perks, which Levi had seen cause more problems than he ever wanted to deal with in his life. “That explains why Erwin had such a volatile reaction to being denied by her, doesn’t it?” Levi finally concludes as his eyes focus back on Armin’s face. 

The blonde is watching him closely, eyes watching his every reaction and he feels his skin crawl with the intensity. What was it that Armin wanted him to say? Was there something he was missing? After a pregnant pause the blonde shakes his head as if ridding himself of something before smiling at him. “I think you’ve figured out your motive, Levi,” he murmured while nodding his head in the direction of the nurses’ station. Gunmetal eyes looked at him for a moment longer before turning his eyes to watch as a man started to walk over. 

“Levi Ackerman?” The man asked, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his white jackets. Belatedly, the raven realizes that this is Eren’s doctor and he stands, immediately offering his hand to which the doctor laughs at but shakes. “Glad I found you. He seems to have come to, but refuses to do anything until he gets to see you,” the man informs him and Levi can’t help the snort that comes out of his mouth. Armin is laughing quietly behind him and the doctor just watches for a moment before shaking his head with a soft chuckle. “Is it safe to say that this is normal for him?” 

“Well, being in the hospital for Bloodlust isn’t normal, but demanding for his Omega definitely is,” Armin chirps from his seat and the doctor laughs, ignoring Levi’s petulant frown. 

“Glad to hear it! You can come along if you’d like,” he offered and Levi turned to look at Armin, about to tell him to come along, but the blonde shook his head with another soft laugh. 

“I’ll wait my turn. I think Jean would be upset if we both disappeared before he got back anyways,” he explained while looking at the doctor. The doctor shrugged and turned to leave, Levi following to do so but Armin’s hand on his own stops him. When he turns, those blue eyes are staring at him with that scary intensity once again and he frowns. “Don’t tell him that you know,” the blonde whispers and for a moment Levi has that ‘invasion of privacy’ feeling again but he shakes it away. There was a reason that Armin told him after all. 

“Of course not. I just want him to be safe,” he answered truthfully before being released to go see his mate. The walk down the hallways seemed to take forever and the doctor was nice enough to try and keep conversation, but once they got to Eren’s room he stepped out of Levi’s way with a smile. The raven hesitated, hand hovering awkwardly over the door handle while images of a bloody Eren flashed through his head. After a moment he forced a breath through his lips while shoving the door open. 

There was a nurse in the room, arms crossed while she glared down at Eren who was protesting to any sort of medical treatment until he got to see Levi. The sight of the brunette, skin flushed with a healthy shade, foxfire eyes burning with annoyance, and mouth moving as he argued broke the dam that Levi had built up and the choked whine that left his lips was completely warranted. Both Eren and the nurse turned and looked at him but Eren was the only one that did anything. He tried to haul himself off the bed where they still had him strapped down. Levi hadn’t noticed it before but now that he had his hands itched to let his mate free. 

The nurse was trying to get Eren to quit struggling but Levi wanted to tell her it was no use, there was nothing that could hold him back from getting his Omega. He felt the same way. Feet moving across the floor, he didn’t stop at the side of the bed to run his hands carefully over the young Alpha’s skin, he climbed right up and into Eren’s lap. The brunette was making happy noises in the back of his throat like a puppy would and the sight made Levi’s heart soar. His Alpha was okay; he would be okay. 

“Eren,” he whispered, fingers dragging through brunette hair before stopping at the back of his neck. There were voices behind him but he didn’t listen to them as he stared down into the eyes that were burning him alive. He needed the Alpha’s hands on him, so with shaking hands of his own he reached down to try and undo the straps that were holding Eren down. There must have been a change in his scent or he must have started to whimper because Eren was leaning forward to press his nose to the Omega’s neck in a comforting gesture. 

“Levi, babe,” he called and when he received no response, the raven too focused on trying to undo the straps, Eren nipped his cheek. Gunmetal eyes blinked a few times as he startled, sitting back on his haunches with his breath coming out in frantic pants. The doctor had come in and was busy undoing the horrid straps holding Eren down and every time that Levi tried to look away the Alpha would call to him again. Once he was no longer held down, warm hands gently reached up to cradle Levi’s head while he spoke softly. “Omega, Levi, I’m right here,” he whispered and Levi felt his chest constrict before pushing forward into Eren’s chest. 

Levi could remember standing in the conference room and what it was like having Alpha walk into the room. It wasn’t Eren by any means and both he and his Omega knew it. Both had perked up, attuned to the finest of movements that the other made. When it became clear that the challenge had been accepted, Levi still felt the stone cold dread that he felt when that realization had come over him. That feeling had only become worse when he realized that he wouldn’t make it to Eren in time, couldn’t get him out of harm’s way before the fight broke out. His heart had beat harder in his chest and for a moment, when the agents had stepped in the way, he thought that maybe he could do it.

Alpha had other ideas though because he was functioning on an entirely different level than everyone else. There had been a part of him that was beside himself with the fact that Alpha had thrown his body over Levi’s own to keep him safe, but more prevalent than that was the complete and utter horror. There were no other words to describe how terrified he had been, not only thinking about how Eren could be hurt, but how scared he was of Alpha and the unrestrained strength he showed in that moment. Looking at Eren now, he could almost believe that it was a dream. 

“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” he rasped, teeth sliding dangerously over the boy’s pulse point. Eren seemed to sense his stress because he nodded, cradling the Omega to his chest while whispering to him that everything was fine now. Levi knew, but he would still have that nightmare haunt him for years to come. 


	9. Road to Nowhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Release from the hospital. Almost Smut. Random added characters. Oops...murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so fucking sorry again. I haven't been able to write anything lately and everything that usually works to get me out of a slump hasn't helped. BUT! I've moved into a new place and have my own space so I've been feeling the stress and anxiety of being cramped go away. So, here is the next chapter. 
> 
> My intention was to end this in 10 chapters, write an epilogue, then maybe write a second whatever if this went over well but then things happened this chapter and that isn't going to happen. So, I'm hoping for maybe fifteen chapters? Hoping. But if I can't even make ten happen then I really don't have any high hopes for myself. 
> 
> My hands slipped and murder happened.

Levi wanted Eren to come home. He hated that his mate was starting to smell like antiseptic and cleaner, and even though it reminded him of that fact that the Alpha was safe, he despised that his scent wasn’t as strong. After the doctor and nurse left, Eren had cradled Levi to his chest for who knows how long, only being interrupted by Jean and Armin. Eren had growled out a warning which made the raven smirk. He may not admit it very often, but protective Eren was a very sexy Eren. The blonde Alpha had actually hesitated, but Armin marched in, smirk firmly in place as he eyed the two mates. Levi had the crawling feeling that he was in danger. 

“So, you finally decided to snap out of it and join us again?” Armin asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down primly. Eren stiffened slightly, nose still tucked against Levi’s neck but the raven knew that he was scenting the air now as well. There was a pregnant pause before the brunette pulled back enough to look at the blonde. They stared at one another until another growl broke through the air, Jean obviously uncomfortable with what was going on. Though Levi couldn’t blame him after what happened earlier. He was sure that Jean’s Alpha was on edge just being in the same room as Eren right now. 

Foxfire eyes turned away from Armin and turned on Jean, fire burning from within. They were silent, the two dominant males having a silent conversation before Jean huffed and walked in, pulling up the other chair and throwing himself down into it. Eren was smiling fondly, though Levi wasn’t sure why. When their eyes met he made a soft questioning noise in the back of his throat but Eren just shook his head slightly. The other two were whispering to one another about something, Jean growing more annoyed by the minute while Armin’s smile turned more dangerous. Levi’s bad feeling got worse when he noticed. Turning around, he pressed his back to Eren’s chest and made himself comfortable, not wanting his back to be to the pair. 

“So,” Armin finally said, turning from his mate and pinning Eren with a sharp look. The brunette responded with a soft huff while pressing his face against Levi’s hair making the raven laugh under his breath. Only Eren would try to get out of Armin’s interrogation by hiding behind him. “When were you going to tell us yourself about Erwin’s guilt?” The blonde asked, blue eyes sliding to Levi’s. He was right. Levi hadn’t even stopped to wonder just how long Eren had been suspecting Erwin or what had turned the brunette onto the other Alpha’s trail in the first place. 

Eren shifted around and Levi resisted the urge to turn around and force the Alpha to look into his eyes and answer the question. How long had this been going on? Had he been doing this himself or did he have help? If he did have help, then who did he go to? Why hadn’t he told Levi himself, even if it was to just state that he was concerned about something? There were so many questions swirling around in his head that it made him ache but he wouldn’t push this, at least not while they had company. Armin didn’t seem to share the sentiment. 

“Annie said that you called her like three days after New Year’s to ask her for help!” The blonde scolded, eyes flashing with hurt and Levi felt his stomach drop at the words. The secrets have been happening for a little while, but who knows how long Eren had been suspicious of Erwin. The Alpha could have been uncomfortable around him from the beginning. What if he had been and Levi had just been ignoring the signs the entire time, too busy caught up in the feeling of having his Alpha around all the time? It was a heavy thought that weighed pulled not only on his mind but his heart as well and he curled in on himself more to fit himself against Eren’s chest better. 

“I didn’t know if anything was actually going on or if my sleep deprived brain was just too paranoid to see reason,” the brunette grumbled, arms wrapping around Levi tightly with a petulant huff. It didn’t take a genius to tell that he was annoyed at having to explain himself over why he chose to do things this way, but it was still a comfort to know that he was willing to do it despite his obvious displeasure. A quick glance at the other Alpha in the room told Levi that Jean was just annoyed as his mate, but he also understood why Eren didn’t say anything which was why he was keeping his mouth shut. 

That pegged the question in his head of how close the two of them actually were. All Eren ever did was complain about Jean, but he knew that his Alpha was fond of the other. From what Armin had told him earlier the two dominants had met during a low point in Eren’s life so Levi was sure that their friendship meant a lot more to him than words could ever describe and that truth still rang true today. It was a heartwarming thought that he let pull him through while wrapping his hands around Eren’s. 

“You still should have said something! Jean and I are your best friends, Eren! We would have helped you whether it was true or not and you know that!” Armin argued and for a moment the raven thought that Eren was going to snap, but all that the blonde received in reply was a weary sigh. It wasn’t just a tired one that made him think of sleepless nights. It was one that made him think of a bone deep tiredness that never seemed to go away despite all the hours spent dreaming. It made him think of the broken boy who sat in his entranceway crying against his shoulder just last night. 

“Sorry, Ar, but I’m done talking about this,” Eren finally said after a long moment of silence. Gunmetal eyes glanced up to watch the blonde’s reaction and he was surprised to see the fury that had morphed his features. Jean stepped in then, hand settling against the back of his mate’s neck before he leaned down to speak directly into his ear. It was a private moment, one that Levi knew he shouldn’t watch, but he couldn’t help the wonder that he felt while seeing the familiarity that Alphas and Omegas seemed so prone to showing. Sometimes it bothered him, like now, that he wasn’t like ‘normal’ Omegas in the sense that he bowed down easily or worked to please his Alpha with everything he did. 

Levi knew that he was argumentative and had a tendency not to mince words. He knew that he was bitter on a good day and on a bad day you didn’t dare catch his eye. That was until he met Eren and sometimes, he bit his tongue during an argument and dulled his words. Sometimes he tried to look on the brighter side of things and on bad days he would turn away from things he knew would bother him more. These were things that he took into consideration when he started thinking about Eren because he didn’t want to embarrass his Alpha or put him in a difficult position. Levi didn’t give a shit about what people thought of him, but what people thought of the bright-eyed brunette? That was an entirely different story. 

As if sensing his thoughts, hands slid across his stomach once, twice, before he dared to turn around and look at his mate. Eren was watching him carefully, eyes wide and cautious. It was something that Levi was expecting, something that he knew he was going to see once the issue with Erwin was brought up, but with his thoughts in the place they were at he didn’t like it. A frown marred his features before he leaned forward to press his nose against Eren’s cheek. The brunette didn’t comment on it, just wrapped his arms around the other in a rough embrace that signified their relationship to Levi. The embrace itself was their love for one another while the roughness of it was something akin to the way that their own jagged edges ground against one another to fit together to create one of the most important things in his life. 

“Levi,” Eren whispered and the raven made a small questioning noise but didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure what the other two were doing and really couldn’t bring himself to care as he pushed himself closer to Eren who seemed confused by his sudden need for affection. Foxfire eyes left him and he shivered as if the gaze that always seemed pinned to him brought actual heat. “We can finish this conversation later, but right now I need the two of you to leave,” the brunette said, his words slow but tone warm. The Omega knew that it was for his benefit the other two were being sent away, that Eren was looking out for him. It made him smile briefly but it went away as he turned his face to brush his lips over his mate’s jaw. 

“Eren! We aren’t done,” Armin protested, standing from his chair quickly. The sudden noise and action caused Levi draw his shoulders up. It was too much for him. There were too many people, too much noise, not enough of his mate, not enough comfort. There just wasn’t enough and too much. Before Eren could say anything, Jean stood and set a hand on the blonde’s shoulder heavily. 

“Armin, that’s enough. We’re leaving,” the words left his mouth and it was easy to tell that he didn’t like ordering Armin around, but it was also easy to see that the Omega was working himself up unnecessarily. It wouldn’t do to have two Omegas upset. There was a pregnant pause within the room before the blonde stormed off without another word and Jean sighed, hand scrubbing over his face before looking over at Eren who was still watching with a complicated smile on his face. 

“You better go. You know that he cries when he gets mad,” Eren murmured, voice quiet in the room and the sound brushed over Levi in wave. The blonde didn’t say anything but he must have made a face or gesture because Eren’s chest rumbled with a low chuckle that made something burn in the raven’s stomach. Once alone, the brunette moved them, ignoring Levi’s protests, until the Omega was on his back on the bed and caged in by the Alpha’s body. There was a fluttering in his chest, a nervousness that he hadn’t realized before but was feeling full force now and it seemed that Eren noticed it at the same time because he frowned. 

“Are you afraid of me?” He asked, voice slow and guarded as he started to move away. Levi’s stomach swooped and before he realized it his hands were fisting the material of his mate’s hospital gown while trying to pull him closer. The brunette took this as a good sign and moved only slightly closer which annoyed Levi to no end. 

“Eren,” he whined softly, glancing up through his lashes. He was the one being tested now, the one being challenged and he was willing to play the little shit and act coy if that was what his Alpha wanted. His mate’s scent was overpowering; it was something to be reckoned with on a good day, but now… It scorched the raven and his throat felt raw just from being in such close vicinity to it though he couldn’t find it within himself to care. Alpha’s eyes seemed to flash in approval before Eren grinned, feral and possessive. 

“Levi,” he cooed softly, leaning down to nip at the Omega’s throat near his scent glands. It was so close yet so far away and the raven whined again, though this time in desperation as he arched his back into his mate. Eren’s dark chuckle brushed against the right places making the raven release a quiet moan into the air. In the back of his mind, he knew that Eren wasn’t completely back to his normal self, but he had decided to appease his Alpha and go with the flow to help in any way he could. If that meant making a mess of himself in a public hospital with the door open, then so be it. 

When he had arrived at the hospital, a specialist had sat him down and explained to him what Bloodlust was and the effects of it. Though it was all vague considering it impacted each Alpha differently, the explanation helped to understand what had happened to Eren and he had been able to give some information to the specialist. He had also found out that Eren wouldn’t just snap out of it and go back too normal immediately. This changed him and Alpha and, considering how his immediate reaction had been to protect Levi, he would probably have all his attention on his mate. They had offered to keep Eren in the hospital the entire time but before the entire sentence was out of their mouth, Levi was rejecting the idea and telling them that he would care for his mate himself. 

Now, trapped underneath Eren’s body with his mate’s teeth grazing over his scent glands and feeling himself falling deeper and deeper into that haze of arousal he is starting to wonder if maybe he should have accepted the deal. Just as Eren opens his mouth to bite down on his skin, a knock interrupts them and the Alpha growls, feral and dangerous. Levi bites back an incriminating whimper, eyes falling closed while his hands grip tighter in his mate’s hair. He doesn’t dare look over to the door, fearing that if he does it will draw more attention than necessary to whomever has bothered them. It would also give away how badly his hands are shaking. 

“Glad to see you are feeling better, Mr. Jaeger!” The man says and it takes a moment but Levi eventually places the voice as the doctor’s. The brunette pulls back his head enough so that he can turn his golden gaze on the man. They talk for a moment but Levi can’t focus on the words, too busy watching Eren’s throat and jaw. The way that his muscles work is fascinating to him and he knows that his grip is turning painful from the way that his mate is glancing at him out of the corner of his eye but he can’t help himself. Once the doctor leaves Eren turns his attention back to Levi with a grin, eyes glinting in an animalistic way that has the raven panting and shifting in his slacks. 

“Sorry, darling, but you’re going to have to wait until we get home.” 

xXx

Four hours. That is how long Eren was at home before there was knocking on his door and an annoyed and apologetic looking Jean explaining that they needed to go and make sure that their statements were correct. When Levi heard, he had exploded, yelling about how ridiculous it all was because the trial wasn’t for weeks and that it was stupid to do it now, though Eren knew that Levi only wanted him to stay home. He wasn’t the only one. Jean had also wanted Eren to stay home until he was more rested, but alas, they had to come all the way to this concrete government building. 

“Couldn’t we have just done this at a police station or something?” Eren grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets with a frown. Jean glanced over at him with a shrug, feet stomping against the steps as they climbed towards the doors. It was a thing of architectural wonder, with its arches and towers pillars, but that didn’t make him feel any more excited about being brought in. Just as they reached the door, their names were called and they turned. The woman that met them outside was the agent that had met with Eren before and he shook her hand while she apologized profusely for bringing them in. 

“I wasn’t the one who called you two in. It was a colleague of mine. He wanted to check everything over,” she explained while leading them into the building, nodding at the security guard who nodded back before giving both Alphas a look that had Eren’s skin crawling. It took a moment for the woman’s words to roll over in his head but when they did, the brunette couldn’t stop the words from flowing out of his mouth. 

“Is it because you are a Beta or because you are a woman?” He asked and she stopped, causing the boys to stop. Jean was glaring daggers at Eren, but he was genuinely curious as to why they were called in when she had already done her job and had both boys take care of their statements. She turned around, a complicated smile on her face that answered Eren’s question. 

“Both. This profession is mainly for Alphas so when you put a Beta in here is messes up the balance. Not to mention I’m a woman,” she mumbles and starts to turn away but Eren grabs her arm lightly, ignoring Jean’s protests. She turns back to him with a wary look in her eyes that reminds him of Levi when they were reunited. 

“What is your name? We were never properly introduced,” he asked and she startled slightly, mouth opening and closing a few times before she turned to him completely, offering him her hand with a pleasant smile. 

“Anka Rheinberger. It is nice to meet you,” she introduced and he grinned, shaking her hand with his own. They laughed slightly, looking over at Jean who was shaking his head and trying not to laugh. 

“Eren Jaeger. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he greeted and they laughed for another moment before continuing their trek through the building. Idle chatter passed the time until the tiled hallways and office cubicles turned into closed door rooms and brick walls. They turned silent and she looked back at them with an ashamed and guilty expression that had Eren swallowing thickly. 

“You both will be in separate interrogation rooms with different agents. Jean, you will be in here,” she pointed to the open door to her left and the blonde sighed, moving over to the door but not entering. “Eren, you will be in this one,” she sighed while gesturing to her right. The brunette watched how she kept her eyes on the floor while she spoke before walking to his own door. Burning foxfire eyes looked over at Jean who nodded before entering his room with a frown. 

“Anka, who will I be talking with?” He asked, turning to look at the woman. She hadn’t raised her head yet and the sight made Eren frown. For a moment he thought that the Beta would stay quiet but then her eyes rose to meet his and he knew that he would have to really practice some self-restraint. 

“The coworker that doesn’t trust my work,” she confessed before turning and walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. The brunet watched her go for a moment before sighing to himself and entering the room. It was plain with just a metal table and two chairs inside. He took the one facing the glass like he was sure he was supposed to. Five minutes passed before another man walked into the room, eyes wild and suit a mess. He sat in the chair and started messing with the folder he had brought without saying anything for a while before finally looking up at Eren who frowned in response. 

“Good afternoon, Mr. Jaeger. Let’s get started, shall we?” The man asked before pulling out specific papers and sliding them over to Eren who didn’t move his gaze away from the beady eyes that seemed to only see one thing at a time. It was unnerving to Eren, how the man didn’t seem to have a scent either. “Do these papers look familiar to you?” The agent asked before looking up at Eren who kept his eyes on the man. Now it was more than just ignoring the fact that he was being questioned and had to do with trying to find a scent. After a long pause the man spoke up. “Is there an issue?” 

“You didn’t tell me your name,” Eren said as soon as the words were out of the agent’s mouth. He could tell that the man was surprised. It wasn’t an expected issue, obviously. Eren guessed that usual problems consisted of wanting a lawyer present or wanting water or something. He just wanted a name. 

“Right, sorry. I’m Agent Weilman,” he amended and Eren nodded before looking down at the papers as if actually going through the motions of being questions. After a moment he looked back up and sighed. 

“Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not saying anything else because I’ve already made my statement for this case and there isn’t anything you can say or do to make me change it,” he grumbled, a petulant upturn of his head adding to the attitude. The man gaped at him for a moment before his face started to turn a shade of red from annoyance. It was a bit funny. 

“You are required- “he started and Eren couldn’t help the snort that escaped his lips at the statement that was coming next. 

“I could sit here for years and name the many things that I love about my mate, but I won’t give you material to touch yourself to. Instead I’ll tell you this,” he started, standing then leaning forward with his hands on the table until he was nose to nose with the other Alpha now that he had gotten a hint of the man’s scent. “I am under no obligation to sit through a questioning when I am in no way under suspicion for any sort of crime. I have made my statement and thus have done my part here. You cannot legally keep me here,” he grinned dangerously before standing and straightening his clothing. 

Weilman stood so fast that his chair crashed to the floor and Eren slowly looked at him, annoyance dripping from him so thick that it filled the air. It made the older man stumble, have to catch himself on the table. They stared at one another for a long moment until the door opened and Jean stepped in with a huff. His lip was split and he had a purpling bruise on his cheek. Eren looked at him for a long moment before turning back to Weilman slowly, a dangerous scent pouring from his every pore. 

“Why is my friend injured, Agent Weilman?” He asked, voice sickly sweet and unbearable. No one said anything for a long time until Eren grew impatient and cornered the older man, hands shoved into his pockets. The man cowered, beady eyes wider than before as he gaped up at the animalistic Alpha that snarled at him. “ _Well_ , Agent Weilman?” He asked again though his voice was sharp as a knife. 

“We were paid,” he spilled and Eren looked at him a moment longer before turning away and glancing up at the camera in the corner. Jean shrugged before backing out of the room, a small smirk pulling at his lips as he waited for his friend. 

“’Because I’m a Beta woman’ my ass,” Eren grumbled, knocking shoulders with Jean as they made their way down the hallway, pausing so that the brunette could glance into the room that Jean had been in. The three men that had been sent inside all lay groaning with multiple injuries and Eren whistled before slinging an arm around the blonde’s shoulders. “Way to go, Jean-Boy,” he praised and laughed when the Alpha shoved him off and into the wall with a huff. 

A shuffle from up ahead drew their attention and they stopped, watching as a group of men, all Alphas, crowded into the small hallway, effectively blocking their way. Eren sighed tiredly while Jean laughed loudly, pulling out his piercings. This was going to take some time and Eren really just wanted to get home to his mate and maybe take a nap. As much as he enjoyed a good fight, this wasn’t what he wanted right now. A nudge to his side drew his attention and he turned to see Jean grinning sharply at him. 

“I’m already three ahead of you,” the blonde challenged and it took Eren a few moments but once it clicked in his head he sighed, grin pulling at his lips. Leave it to Jean to turn their escape into a competition. 

“Fuck you, Horseface. I’ve got this in the bag,” he agreed easily before knocking into the other and charging forward. 

xXx

Levi couldn’t help the tightening of his gut as he waited for Eren to get home. Going over a statement and signing papers should only take an hour – two at max and he had been gone for a little over three without a phone call. He was starting to worry about what was happening. Who was there to call? Usually he would call Erwin to complain about his worries, but… He shook his head of that thought and considered calling Hanji, but then remembered the completely blank look they had yesterday and threw that thought out of their head right away. Armin was next on the list because Jean had gone with Eren and maybe the brunette had gotten sidetracked with his friends which was a possibility with his small brain. 

Just as he was reaching for his phone, there was a loud crash from outside of his door that made him jump. Then things got quiet. Not usual quiet, but eerily quiet. He slowly stood from the couch and crept into the kitchen where he pulled a knife from his block before moving to the door. Even though his mind was screaming at him to turn and run, his body was telling him that he needed to fight to keep his and Eren’s home safe until his Alpha came home. The hallway was silent and he thanked his OCD that he kept up his housework so that his doorknob was inaudible as he turned it and slowly opened the door, peering out. 

There was nothing different about his hallway from what he could see which confused him. Had he imagined the crash in the first place? Suddenly a weight against the door pushed him back and he fell, knife tumbling from his hand, sliding against the floor, and out of reach. He cursed as he looked up to see who pushed their way into his house. It was a man, a Beta, that Levi remembered being at the office to arrest Erwin. His name escaped the raven’s mind, though with the vicious look in his eyes Levi figured that his name probably didn’t matter. 

Levi couldn’t understand it. What was he being attacked for? The Beta came at him but Levi was fast and pushed himself backwards as the man reached out to grab him, stumbling when the raven was no longer there. Turning, the Omega pushed himself up and broke into a run around the apartment. This was like a life-or-death game of tag, his mind supplied and he wanted to laugh. He really did but this really wasn’t the time for that. Thanking Eren for forcing him into childish games like tag, he broke into a hard run towards the bathroom but ducked into the closet instead, pressing himself under the bottom shelf and behind the towels where he knew he could hide. 

There was a day that Eren had convinced him to play hide and seek that Eren had ended up losing simply because Levi had found this spot. Two hours he had been in here, though after about twenty minutes of hiding amongst comfortable towels that smelled like mate had lulled him to sleep. Alpha had to carefully unbury him, not wanting to wake him. Apparently it had been an interesting experience, though Levi doesn’t remember much past crawling back here. The towels masked his scent well so it should do the same for this Beta. 

The sound of someone in the bedroom reached his ears and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. That was his and Eren’s nest and there was someone else in there. He frantically looked around him, eyes searching for any sort of weapon until a flash of silver caught his eye. The knife, lying half under the couch only five feet away from him, was his best option and the Omega inside of him was screaming, hissing, and baring its teeth at the thought of defending its nest. His mind was made up already and so he glanced over at the door to the bedroom, just out of his line of sight, before making his move. 

Levi knew that he was stealthy and had always prided himself with that knowledge. It had come in use when Eren wanted to play his games. So, he used that now to move out of the closet and grab the knife. With the weight of a weapon in his hand he felt like a killer, an animal, a savage and he knew that his eyes were now glowing a deadly silver without having to look in a mirror. There was an unsaid rule that you must never enter another’s nest and this Beta had just broken that rule. There would be bloodshed and Levi wouldn’t regret it in the least. 

The sound of breaking glass reached his ears and he bared his teeth, feet moving across the floor noiselessly until he was just outside of the bedroom door. The Beta man was just inside and as soon as Levi could see his shadow, he lunged, legs wrapping around his waist and arms around the man’s neck in a vice grip. They struggled, the Omega was slammed against the wall, but there was no pain as Levi saw the destroyed room. The knife in his hand became an extension of his body and he sliced down, a perfect arc that landed straight above the Beta’s heart. There was a moment where they are both went still until Levi dropped down, watching as the Beta looked down at the knife then back up at Levi, garbling a nonsense of noise that the raven suspected were supposed to be words before falling to his knees. 

Just a second later, they locked eyes and with his last breath the Beta left his final warning that put a chill in Levi’s bones. 

_“Pureblood.”_

xXx

When Eren ran into the apartment, Levi was in the kitchen, sitting on the counter in his bloody clothes with a cup of tea in his hands. Jean and Armin were hot on his heels but froze at the heavy scent of blood in the air. Eren stopped to just look at the storm that is Levi; molten silver eyes reflecting their own light wherever he looks and barely restrained madness that was currently staring at the Alpha coolly like he wasn’t currently drinking tea while covered in blood. 

“Hello,” he greeted, voice pitched low and gravelly. It almost didn’t sound like his mate and for a moment Eren wanted to walk out the door then walk back in to see if it really was him, but he knew that would get him injured so he stayed in place. He watched as the Omega raised his cup and took a slow drink, not breaking their gaze. 

“Is that your…?” He trailed off while taking a step closer, eyes finally moving away only to trail down his mate’s body. There was blood everywhere and Alpha wanted to take Levi into the bathroom and bathe him from head to toe before bringing him to bed. There must have been something in his gaze that said that because the raven huffed before putting his cup down. 

“None of it is mine, actually. But there is a dead guy in our bedroom,” he explained nonchalantly, as if it was something that happened on a regular basis. Eren snapped his eyes back up to Levi’s face which was turned down to the ground, a frown pulling at his lips. The Alpha knew how much that room meant to Levi, knew that wasn’t just a room. That was where Eren gave him their bond rings, where Levi realized that Eren was here to stay. That was their nest, their home. 

“Levi,” Eren whispered, his voice sad as he walked into the kitchen, hands reaching out to cup his mate’s face. Levi wouldn’t look him in the eyes so Eren whimpered, ducking his head to nose at the raven’s neck comfortingly. A quick glance at his friends and Armin nodded before pulling Jean out of the apartment, shutting the door behind them. Once the door shut, the click signaling that they were alone, Levi’s arms circled Eren’s shoulders tightly and he sniffled wetly. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Eren,” the raven whispered and his voice sounded so wrecked that Eren whined in his throat, standing so that he could wrap his Omega in his arms and cradle him. There were a few things about Levi that Eren didn’t know: his favorite color, his mother’s name, how he cried. Well, Eren could now cross the last one off his list because he could feel the wetness of his mate’s tears soaking through his shirt steadily and his heart ached in ways that he wasn’t sure that he could explain. 

Was this how the raven felt when he cried into his neck? So desperate to tell Levi how sorry he was for something that hadn’t happened yet? Something that he couldn’t tell his mate about and yet he put him through that pain? The thought made him ache even more and he felt himself start to croon, throat working on the tune that he knew was familiar to the both of them. Eren wasn’t sure how long they were there for, but eventually Levi’s tears dried up. The Alpha refused to release his mate despite how much Levi was complaining about it, though it was obvious that it was all halfhearted. 

“Did you hide in the towels?” The question came out of nowhere but Levi seemed to expect it and nodded which made his mate’s heart ache in ways that he hated. Most Omegas, if put in a situation similar to that, would go straight for their nest to hide. Which is probably why whoever attacked Levi went straight there instead of looking elsewhere. “Did anything else happen?” He asked and the raven seemed to go stiff in his arms for a moment before sitting back, hands seeking out Eren’s own. 

“Armin told me that you are a Pureblood,” Levi whispered and for a moment Eren felt a white hot fury, but looking at his mate, he knew that it would never matter with Levi. The brunette nodded before leaning forward to press a kiss to his forehead. There was a small smile adorning the Omega’s lips when Eren leaned back which made him happy but there was an edge to it that made him wary. “Right before the man died, he kept trying to talk which I just brushed away. But then, all of a sudden he seemed to get a burst of strength, and he said ‘pureblood’,” Levi finished and Eren felt his blood ran cold in his veins. 

There were numerous cults in the world that sought out Purebloods in hopes of killing them for a multitude of reasons. Who really cared, but this was excessive. Looking down at Levi now, Eren had to question…

“Eren, we need to get Historia out of prison. She’s a Pureblood and if they are coming after us I can only imagine what they are going to or are doing to her,” he whispered desperately. The brunette stared for a moment longer before nodding. Questioning his mate’s heritage could wait until his goals were taken care of. Until then, however, there were a few things to take care of. 

“So, Levi,” he started conversationally with a small goofy smile on his face that caught the raven’s attention. “Do you have any plans of how we are going to get a dead body out of our bedroom? I’m ready to hear some suggestions,” he goaded and laughed when the Omega’s face suddenly flushed with embarrassment. 


	10. From the Author

Hey guys. I want to apologize for dropping this story but a lot of stuff started happening in my life and it all became a lot to handle. I am thinking about starting this again but as I was going back and reading what I have so far I've realized that there is quite a bit that I want to change. So, I'm going to leave this up for the time being and when I decide to rewrite it then I will take this one down. I like what I've done but there are a bunch of loose ends and there are parts where I wish to add more. It'll end up being longer but... oh well. 

Sorry again for all the trouble and I hope that, if there is anyone who follows this story, that you will be patient with me. 

Hope to post for you all agin soon! 

-FlightlessEggsxo

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any mistakes! Please let me know what you think in the comments!


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